Every team encounters ebbs and flows during a long 162-game season. But after a historic 8-0 start to the 2025 season, the Dodgers are now enduring a skid most didn’t expect Los Angeles to experience all season, let alone within the first month of play.
The Dodgers lost 4-2 to the Cubs on Sunday, handing the defending World Series champions their third consecutive series loss. And this latest loss comes a day after Los Angeles was absolutely embarrassed by Chicago, 16-0, on Saturday. That defeat became the most lopsided home shutout loss in the entire history of the Dodgers’ franchise.
Los Angeles entered the series with Chicago undefeated at home and now leaves it with two losses at Dodgers Stadium. Dropping two out of three to Chicago also comes after losing two out of three to the Phillies and the Nationals, respectively.
While Los Angeles still owns a solid 11-6 record, mostly thanks to its hot start, the Dodgers have now dropped down to third in the National League West. They are also looking up at two of the best teams in baseball so far in their rival Giants and the MLB-leading Padres.
A big reason why Los Angeles has gone 4-6 in its last 10 games is its top stars have struggled. Three-time MVP Shohei Ohtani went 0-for-5 on Sunday and recorded only one hit in the entire series with the Cubs. But even prior to that, Ohtani has only one home run in his last nine games and has only five RBI on the year.
Mookie Betts hasn’t been much better as of late. Betts had two hits in the series with the Cubs and just one RBI. He also sent only two runners home in the six games against Philadelphia and Washington combined.
Freddie Freeman only appeared as a pinch-hitter on Sunday, going 1-for-6 in six at-bats in the first two games with Chicago. Freeman hadn’t played since March 29 due to a stint on the injured list before making his return to the lineup on Friday.
Obviously, a bad week or two isn’t reason enough reason for Dodgers fans to panic, especially since this group has already proved they can win a championship together. However, it’s been a bad month for Los Angeles.
The question now becomes — when will the Dodgers start playing like the Dodgers again?
