Six weeks ago, the Los Angeles Dodgers looked untouchable in the National League West.
Dodgers swept by Angels, Padres take NL West lead before showdown
On July 3, they led the division by nine games and were already being penciled in for another title. Since then, they have dropped 21 of 33 games, and after being swept by the Los Angeles Angels, they now trail the San Diego Padres by one game.
Shohei Ohtani tried to set the tone Wednesday night, tripling to start the game and helping spark a three-run first inning. On the mound, he was seeking to get through five innings for the first time since returning from elbow surgery. He exited in the fifth after giving up a string of hits that cut the lead to one. The Dodgers’ injury-plagued bullpen could not hold it, surrendering the go-ahead runs in the eighth on a two-run single from Logan O’Hoppe.
The offense has been sputtering since 4th of July with a .661 OPS ranking among the league’s worst. This series loss marks the first time since April that the Dodgers have fallen out of first place.
Mookie Betts remained composed after the loss, saying the team is “giving ourselves chances to win” but needs to turn the page before the Padres series.
The timing could not be worse for Los Angeles. San Diego is riding a five-game winning streak, helped by a healthy starting rotation and aggressive trade deadline moves that brought in closer Mason Miller, catcher Freddy Fermin, and sluggers Ryan O’Hearn and Ramon Laureano.
The last Dodgers-Padres matchup got heated, with eight hit batters across four games and a benches-clearing near-fight between managers Dave Roberts and Mike Shildt. This weekend’s three-game set at Dodger Stadium, followed by another in San Diego later this month, could determine the division’s fate.
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For Ohtani, the night also carried extra weight. It was his first time pitching at Angel Stadium as a visitor and his first meeting with Mike Trout since striking him out to clinch Japan’s 2023 World Baseball Classic title. Ohtani fanned Trout twice, once with a sweeper and once with a 101 mph fastball.
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