The Dodgers' bats have gone quiet, and it's starting to feel like a broken record in St. Louis. Manager Dave Roberts walked into Friday's game with a "good feeling" about his slumping offense, even noting that "the road, ironically, has been better for us." By the end of the night, that optimism felt like a distant memory.
In a 7-2 loss to the Cardinals, the Dodgers' star-studded lineup managed just five hits against a St. Louis pitching staff that entered the game with the fifth-worst ERA in the majors. For a team that's invested over $1 billion into its batting order in recent years, this cold stretch is becoming increasingly frustrating.
The power outage is especially concerning. The Dodgers (20-12) failed to hit a home run for the fourth straight game—their longest homer drought since June 2023. In the first 22 games of the season, they were crushing it, leading the majors with 42 home runs and a .507 slugging percentage. Since then? Just three long balls.
Friday's game started on a sour note when the Cardinals jumped out to a 3-0 lead in the first inning against Emmet Sheehan. The Dodgers got on the board with a Max Muncy RBI double in the second, but that was about it. They went 0-for-6 with runners in scoring position and left eight men stranded. Their only other extra-base hit came from Hyeseong Kim's double with two outs in the ninth—too little, too late.
This marks the first time this season the Dodgers have lost three straight games. They're now 5-8 in their last 13, and they've scored at least five runs only five times in that stretch. Roberts had emphasized pregame that he wanted his hitters to "really lock in on our zones, having a plan, and then going and executing." So far, that plan hasn't translated to results.
As the Dodgers search for answers—and their power—the question remains: when will this lineup finally heat up again?