Dodgers’ Inconsistency Looms Large in NL West Battle

By: Christian Monreal

The Los Angeles Dodgers’ struggles continue to mount as inconsistency threatens their hold on first place in the NL West. Since the All-Star break, the Dodgers have failed to play fundamentally sound baseball, plagued by defensive miscues, a slumping offense, and key pitching injuries. Despite reinforcements returning from the injured list, Los Angeles has yet to find a steady footing.

Coming off a tight win against the Minnesota Twins on Monday, the Dodgers sent Yoshinobu Yamamoto to the mound Tuesday night, hoping to build momentum.

Minnesota struck first in the second inning, taking a 1-0 lead on a fielder’s choice from Royce Lewis. Catcher Christian Vázquez followed with a two-out, two-strike double to extend the Twins’ lead to 3-0. The Dodgers responded in the fourth inning, rallying with two walks and a three-run homer from rookie outfielder Andy Pages to tie the game at 3-3.

Yamamoto finished with five strong innings, allowing three runs (only one earned) and striking out eight. However, the Twins regained control in the sixth, pushing across three runs on a bases-loaded walk, a fielder’s choice, and another RBI hit from Vázquez to make it 6-3.

Los Angeles clawed back in the bottom half of the inning on a two-run single by Hyesong Kim, cutting the deficit to 6-5. But the game unraveled for the Dodgers in the seventh inning.

With the bases loaded, a routine grounder back to pitcher Edgardo Henriquez turned disastrous. Henriquez’s throw sailed into right field, allowing three runs to score and stretching the Twins’ lead to 9-5.

“Tonight just wasn’t pretty,” Dodgers manager Dave Roberts admitted postgame. “When you’re walking guys and the defense is spotty, it’s a bad recipe. This one wasn’t good.”

Minnesota tacked on another run in the ninth with a Ty France double. Although Shohei Ohtani launched a two-run homer in the bottom of the ninth, it wasn’t enough to spark a comeback as the Dodgers fell 10-7.

The loss drops Los Angeles to 3-10 in their last 13 games, shrinking their division lead to just four games over the second-place Padres. The Dodgers will look to salvage the series finale against Minnesota before embarking on a critical nine-game road trip.