“Oh man, that was a tough one. It wasn’t pretty.” That is what Dave Roberts said after a moment of relief that was the 2-1 win. Yet the tough times continue…

On Sunday, they lost to the Arizona Diamondbacks again, dropping to 70-48 this season. Though the Dodgers remain at the top of the NL West, Sunday’s 4-2 loss reduced their lead to 7.5 games over the D’backs. With the Dodgers navigating a rare rough patch, an MLB insider feels that it puts the back-to-back World Series champions within striking distance.

“The Dodgers have stuff to sort out,” Buster Olney said on SportsCenter. “First and foremost on the list this morning would be their closer situation with Edwin Diaz… That nears the question of Shohei Ohtani. Will he be back to pitching, or will that knee be problematic?

“How will they solve the catching situation with the two injured guys? The Dodgers are vulnerable. They will be vulnerable going into the postseason. They will be favorites, but I think people on other teams are going to feel like, ‘Hey, we got a shot.'”

On Sunday, the Arizona Diamondbacks recorded their first series win against the Dodgers since 2018. And for yet another game, a D’backs starter got the best of the Dodgers’ lineup. Facing Eduardo Rodriguez, the Dodgers managed only 2 runs on 5 hits across 7.0 innings. To top that, he struck out nine of the Dodgers’ batters.

Justin Wrobleski, on the other hand, surrendered an early 4-0 lead to the D’backs. It started when Ketel Marte launched a two-run homer in the first inning.

Wrobleski’s struggles on the mound continued in the following frame as he surrendered a leadoff double to Locklear. During the next at-bat, on a sacrifice bunt from Ryan Waldschmidt, Locklear scored a run to extend the lead. After recording the next two outs, Wrobleski gave up an RBI double to Gabriel Moreno and put the Dodgers in a 0-4 hole.

While that was it for the D-backs’ offense, the Dodgers’ lineup played catch-up from the second inning onward, never overcoming the lead. An RBI double from Andy Pages and a one-run triple from Kyle Tucker were the only scoring plays the Dodgers managed. Once again, it was a disappointing show from the lineup.

As Olney pointed out, the Dodgers’ recent skid and their series loss to the D’backs exposed the vulnerabilities within the team. Things that adding only Tarik Skubal to the rotation cannot fix. Skubal can only attempt to fill the gap in the rotation left by Shohei Ohtani. The Dodgers have shut down the two-way phenom from pitching for the foreseeable future due to knee issues.

Edwin Diaz has been a liability for the Dodgers as a closer. He carries an inflated 10.80 ERA. In 12 outings, he has given up 12 earned runs while blowing 3 out of 8 saves. Diaz blew two saves straight against the D’backs in the second game. Depending on Diaz to close out postseason games might turn out to be a risky move for the Dodgers.

On top of this, the Dodgers are also struggling with the catching situation due to injuries. Both Will Smith and Dalton Rushing are on the IL. While Smith might return in September since he started baseball activities, Rushing’s chances are slim. The rookie catcher is suffering from a right UCL tear and is on the 10-day IL.

As the Dodgers lost the series to the D’backs, manager Dave Roberts addressed their offensive plight.

Dave Roberts speaks about slumping offense

With the loss of the series finale to the D’backs, the Dodgers have now lost three series in a row, the last two being sweeps. As they dropped their latest series against the Arizona Diamondbacks, they scored only 7 runs, and the margin of defeat was never more than two runs.

“I think this series it was very clear that we weren’t hitting the fastball, and we were exposing ourselves to the changeup with the secondary specifically,” said Roberts, per New York Post Sports.

With Diaz struggling and blowing saves, and Yamamoto not at his best, the Dodgers need more impact from the offense.

As Roberts pointed out before, “It’s hard to win when your margin for winning is a razor’s edge. It’s not like guys aren’t trying, but it’s a tough way to pitch when you have to be perfect. We’re just better than this. As we always say, it’s not a try league. We gotta get it done.” 

With the postseason looming, the Dodgers’ hitters have to get the offense going to keep their World Series three-peat dreams alive.