The Los Angeles Dodgers entered their latest showdown against the Arizona Diamondbacks looking to put an end to a frustrating three-game skid. Instead, the woes continued as sloppy fielding and underwhelming pitching plagued the team in a 7-4 loss, stretching the losing streak to four games. For a team with World Series aspirations and one of the highest payrolls in Major League Baseball, this stretch of inconsistency is raising eyebrows across the league and sowing early-season doubt in a fan base that has grown accustomed to dominance.
On paper, this looked like a game the Dodgers should have taken. Arizona, while scrappy and confident, came in hovering just above .500 and battling injuries of their own. The Dodgers countered with a lineup stacked with All-Stars and a starter, Gavin Stone, who had shown flashes of brilliance this season. But paper doesn’t play baseball, and once again, the Dodgers were reminded that star power can only go so far when the fundamentals begin to unravel.
It started early. In the first inning, the Dodgers surrendered a pair of unearned runs following a misplay by second baseman Gavin Lux, who let a routine ground ball slip under his glove. It was the kind of error that immediately set the tone, deflating a crowd that had barely settled into their seats and putting Stone in a hole before he could find a rhythm. The Diamondbacks capitalized quickly. After a bloop single and a walk loaded the bases, Christian Walker lined a double into the left-center gap, clearing the bases and putting Arizona up 3-0 before the Dodgers even came to bat.
Los Angeles responded with a run of their own in the bottom half, courtesy of a Mookie Betts leadoff double and a Shohei Ohtani RBI single. It was a promising start for an offense that’s been inconsistent throughout the losing streak, often relying on solo homers or late rallies. But as the game wore on, familiar issues crept back into the picture. Stone continued to labor, unable to locate his fastball with precision. He issued three walks across his next two innings and gave up a towering solo shot to Ketel Marte in the third, putting the Diamondbacks up 4-1.
From there, things didn’t get much better. While Stone managed to grind through five innings, the damage had been done, both on the scoreboard and in the growing unease within the dugout. The bullpen offered little in the way of relief. Alex Vesia gave up a two-run blast to Lourdes Gurriel Jr. in the seventh after grooving a middle-in fastball. Brusdar Graterol, returning from injury, showed some rust in a brief outing and allowed another run on a wild pitch.
What’s perhaps most concerning for the Dodgers is how preventable so many of these runs were. The defense committed three official errors, but several other miscommunications and mental mistakes could have just as easily been charged. Airmail throws, missed cutoff men, and slow reaction times plagued the infield and outfield alike. Even the always-dependable Freddie Freeman booted a routine grounder in the sixth that extended an inning and led to an additional Arizona run.
It’s been a troubling trend for Los Angeles. Once known for pristine execution and rock-solid fundamentals, the Dodgers have now committed 10 errors during their four-game losing streak, several of them leading directly to big innings. Manager Dave Roberts, typically calm and measured, didn’t hold back after the game when addressing the team’s sloppy play. “We’re beating ourselves right now,” Roberts said. “We’ve got too much talent to be giving away outs like this. These are plays we make in our sleep. We need to tighten it up, and we need to do it fast.”
While the defense has certainly contributed to the Dodgers’ slide, the pitching staff deserves its share of the blame. With several key arms on the injured list — including Walker Buehler, Dustin May, Tony Gonsolin, and closer Evan Phillips — the remaining pitchers have struggled to keep the ship afloat. The rotation has been inconsistent beyond ace Tyler Glasnow, and the bullpen has been overworked and unreliable.
Stone, who was once a promising top-10 prospect, has yet to find sustained success in the big leagues. His ERA now sits north of 5.00, and his inability to pitch deep into games has exposed a bullpen that’s already running on fumes. The Dodgers brought in veteran arms this offseason to stabilize the staff, but the injury bug has forced them to turn to younger, untested arms earlier than expected.
And then there’s the offense. Despite the presence of stars like Betts, Ohtani, Freeman, and Will Smith, the lineup has cooled considerably in recent days. During this four-game losing streak, they’ve hit just .212 with runners in scoring position and have failed to come up with the timely hits that defined their early-season success. In Monday’s game against the Diamondbacks, the team left nine runners on base and grounded into two double plays that snuffed out rallies before they could materialize.
Ohtani, in particular, has remained productive, driving in two runs on the night and collecting three hits. But even his brilliance hasn’t been enough to spark a dormant offense. Betts and Freeman, usually the tone-setters at the top of the order, have been in mini slumps, each going 2-for-16 over the last four games. With Max Muncy and James Outman also struggling, the bottom of the lineup has become a black hole. The Dodgers have now gone five straight games without a home run from anyone outside of the top four hitters in the order.
For a team that entered the season with championship expectations and the most hyped offseason acquisition in recent memory in Ohtani, this type of skid is more than just a minor bump in the road. It’s exposing real concerns that the front office may need to address before the All-Star break. Whether it’s adding a veteran reliever, upgrading the bench, or making a change in the rotation, the Dodgers know they can’t sit back and hope things fix themselves.
Of course, there’s still time. It’s only May, and the team remains above .500 despite the recent rough patch. But with the surging San Diego Padres and always-dangerous San Francisco Giants right on their heels in the NL West, there’s little margin for error in what has become an increasingly competitive division.
After the game, Roberts emphasized the importance of accountability. “This is on all of us — players, coaches, everyone. We need to clean it up. The season doesn’t wait for you to find your rhythm. You either execute or you fall behind.”
The players echoed those sentiments. Freeman, normally stoic, appeared visibly frustrated in the locker room. “We know we’re better than this. There’s no excuse for how we’ve played the last few games. We’ve got to show some fight, show some pride.”
Betts, often viewed as the emotional leader of the team, tried to keep things in perspective. “We’re in a rough stretch, no doubt. But we’ve been through worse. It’s about getting back to basics. Playing clean baseball. Making the right decisions. That’s what the good teams do — they adjust and bounce back.”
Next up for the Dodgers is another matchup against Arizona, with Bobby Miller taking the mound in hopes of stopping the bleeding. Miller has been one of the bright spots so far this season, showing improved command and velocity. The Dodgers are hoping he can deliver a statement start to halt the skid and reset the tone for the remainder of the homestand.
The Diamondbacks, for their part, have quietly built momentum. Though often overshadowed in the NL West, they’ve played fundamentally sound baseball and taken advantage of opponents’ mistakes. With a roster that blends young talent and veteran leadership, Arizona has already shown they’re not afraid of the Dodgers, and they’ve now taken two series from them this season.
As the Dodgers walked off the field and into the clubhouse on Monday night, the weight of four straight losses hung heavily. Fans filed out of the stadium in stunned silence, their expectations shaken but not broken. For a franchise that has reached the playoffs 11 straight years, these are the kinds of tests that either galvanize a team or expose its flaws.
Whether this is just an early-season stumble or the beginning of a deeper problem remains to be seen. But what’s certain is that the Dodgers have issues to fix — and quickly. The margin for error is smaller than ever in today’s league, and the road back to dominance starts with better pitching, sharper defense, and the return of clutch hitting.
For now, the Dodgers remain a team of immense potential, battling through adversity and searching for answers. The talent is there. The pedigree is there. But until the results match the expectations, questions will linger, and the pressure will mount. Tuesday’s game won’t decide the season, but it might just tell us how close the Dodgers are to finding their way out — or how far they still have to go.
