It’s a pitching staff unlike any you’ve ever seen in Los Angeles. The Major League Baseball (MLB) Los Angeles Dodgers are underperforming amidst chaos on the mound.
As of Aug. 20, the Dodgers were 39-33 on the season with a .542 winning percentage, good for third place in the National League West. Their winning percentage alone is higher than the first-place Cincinnati Reds (.521) in the Central.메이저사이트
But this position is all too familiar for the Dodgers. After changing ownership in 2012, the team won eight straight division titles starting in 2013 and was a lock to finish in the top two for 10 straight years until last year. It’s an awkward position to be in, even though the season is still more than half over.
The bats remain potent with Freddie Freeman (34), Mookie Betts (31), and Will Smith (28). Through 19 games, the Dodgers have a team OPS of 0.775, second only to the Atlanta Braves (0.818) in the National League. The team is also second in the National League in home runs (116) and runs scored (389), indicating a stellar offense.
The problem, however, is on the mound, where the Dodgers have a team ERA of 4.66 over the same period, which is higher than the league average (4.37). Only the New York Mets (4.68), Cincinnati (4.88), and Colorado Rockies (5.45) are below them. That’s a mound that’s not even in the middle of the pack in the National League.
This is shocking, even in terms of franchise history. According to the Los Angeles Times, the Dodgers’ team ERA this year is their worst in 79 years, dating back to 1944 (4.68) when the team was based in Brooklyn, New York. It hasn’t been higher since the team moved to Los Angeles, California, in 1958.
“It didn’t happen during the Coliseum years (1958-1961), when it was only 250 feet (76 meters) to the left field fence, or during the 15-year postseason drought (1989-2003), or during the cash-strapped years of Frank McCourt’s ownership (2004-2012), and he was always competitive on the mound,” the outlet noted.
In terms of individual records, the reigning ace, Clayton Kershaw, is 8-4 with a 2.95 ERA, defying his 35 years of age. Tony Gonsoli (4-2 with a 2.92 ERA) has also been solid, but in his most recent outing, a seven-run outing against San Francisco on April 19, he was unable to prevent the team from being swept. On the plus side, 24-year-old rookie Bobby Miller (3-1, 2.83 ERA) has been performing above expectations.
However, the team has struggled with injuries to key starters like Walker Buehler, Julio Urias, Dustin May, and Noah Syndergaard. The bullpen also has a 5.04 ERA, which ranks last in the National League. Naturally, it’s hard for the Dodgers to stay on top of their game when they’re shaky in both the starting rotation and the bullpen.
“Historically, we’ve built a great team around great pitchers,” said Andrew Friedman, the team’s president of baseball operations, according to the outlet, “but we’re not living up to that right now.” Pitching coach Mark Prior also pointed out that “the depth of the starting rotation is shallow.”
The list of ace pitchers who have passed through the Dodgers’ system over the past decade is long. Cy Young Award winners Zack Greinke, Max Scherzer, Trevor Bauer, Hyun-jin Ryu, Genta Maeda, and many other Class A starters have graced the Dodger mound. But now, in what has been dubbed the “rolling decade,” the Dodgers’ mound appears to be in decline.