For almost any other team in the Dodgers’ position, the first half of the season would have been a flying success.
They hold a seven-game lead in the National League West. They have the NL’s highest-scoring offense. And according to Fangraphs, they have the second-best odds of any MLB club to win the World Series, with a nearly 15% probability, per the outlet’s analytic computer models.
This Dodgers’ team, however, carries far loftier expectations.
Which is why, after suffering a wave of recent injuries and playing .500 ball for much of the last two months, they’ve been simply trying to “weather a storm,” as manager Dave Roberts put it, and get to what feels like a much-needed midseason break.
“Overall, looking at where we’re at, I still feel really good about it,” Roberts said of the club’s first-half performance.
But, he added of finally getting to the All-Star break, “We’re really eager. It’s coming at the right time.”
Sunday’s first-half finale showed exactly why.
Amid a recent wave of pitching injuries and weeks of heavy workloads for their run-down relievers, the Dodgers’ bullpen cracked in a 4-3 walk-off loss to the Detroit Tigers.
After blowing a five-run lead in the ninth inning of an extra-innings loss Saturday, the Dodgers again capitulated late on Sunday. After their bullpen managed to hold up a creaky bridge to the ninth inning, reliever Yohan Ramírez failed to complete a six-out save on his third consecutive day pitching, giving up two runs in the ninth and the walk-off score on a throwing error to third.
The defeat was the Dodgers’ sixth in their last seven games, and leaves them below .500 (23-24) since May 21.