Late-season fatigue and Shohei Ohtani’s nagging injuries threaten the Los Angeles Dodgers’ historic quest to win a third straight World Series.
The Los Angeles Dodgers remain comfortably positioned in the National League West, but their recent form has created legitimate concerns about their pursuit of a third consecutive World Series.
With a 9.5-game lead over the Arizona Diamondbacks in the National League West and only 22 games remaining, winning the division is hardly the issue.
Even if Los Angeles cannot catch the Milwaukee Brewers for the National League’s best record, the Dodgers remain the two-time defending World Series champions.
Too much pressure?
The concern is whether the pressure and physical demands of chasing a historically significant third straight World Series are beginning to show.
Los Angeles went 13-14 in August and are 27-27 since the beginning of July. The Dodgers simply have not looked like their dominant selves.
Kiké Hernández told Dodger Blue that similar late-season struggles have become something of a trend over the past three years.
“If you really follow Dodger baseball the last three years, it’s almost like it’s a trend for the team to struggle around this time of the year,” Hernández said.
Hernández pointed out that previous Dodgers teams also encountered difficult stretches without allowing fatigue, international travel or other potential explanations to define their seasons.
He noted that many teams struggle early, while Los Angeles has recently encountered its problems around late July and early August.
Because much of the veteran group has remained together and experienced difficult situations before, Hernández believes the Dodgers are battle-tested enough to avoid panic. He also viewed their recent series in Colorado as a positive step.
Pitching provides another reason for confidence.
Newly acquired Tarik Skubal gives Los Angeles an ace capable of matching anyone in October. Yoshinobu Yamamoto, Blake Snell and Tyler Glasnow complete a formidable quartet that no opponent would welcome in a postseason series.
The Dodgers therefore believe their rotation is capable of carrying them toward another World Series.
A struggling offense
The greater uncertainty surrounds their stars offensively.
Shohei Ohtani’s overall season numbers remain strong, but injuries have prevented him from consistently performing like MLB’s best player.
Manager Dave Roberts told The Athletic that Ohtani’s recent struggles have developed over multiple weeks rather than one game.
Roberts respects Ohtani’s determination to remain in the lineup whenever possible, but he also questioned whether playing through visible discomfort is helping the team.
“Tonight was kind of the tip of the iceberg,” Roberts said.
“I’ve seen it over the last couple weeks, where he hasn’t been who he is. I know he feels that he needs to post and be in the lineup. (That) if he’s upright, he should play. I respect that. But if he’s feeling the way that visibly looks, then really not helping anyone.”
The responsibility does not belong exclusively to Ohtani.
Kyle Tucker has failed to justify the enormous free agent investment Los Angeles made in him. Mookie Betts is no longer producing at his previous level, while Freddie Freeman has also declined from where he was a few years ago and even last season.
The Dodgers have enough pitching to challenge anyone.
Whether they complete their historic World Series pursuit may depend on their biggest offensive stars rediscovering what made this lineup so difficult to contain.
