Dodgers Suffering Internal Division Threatening Postseason Chances
The Dodgers experienced yet another disheartening defeat at the hands of the Pirates on Tuesday night, seemingly in a state of conflict within their own team between the offense and defense. If they can’t find a harmonious balance, their chances of progressing in the postseason might be jeopardized. The Dodgers tallied seven runs on Tuesday, yet that wasn’t enough to secure a win; their record now stands at 33-7 (.825) when they score seven or more points. In the broader scope of MLB teams in 2025, teams boasting a score of seven or more can typically claim an .880 winning record.
Even narrowing it down to exactly seven runs modeled by the MLB teams in 2025, it shows a robust winning record of 227-56 (.802). However, the Dodgers aren’t as fortunate in this category, only managing a 7-5 (.583) win-loss ratio, with four recent losses out of five games witnessed since the weekend just before the All-Star break. This unsettling pattern of frustration has been a cloud over the Dodgers, resulting in a fairly average performance of 20-21 despite an overall point difference in their favor by 30 runs post the aforementioned break.
The path to defeat for the Dodgers on Tuesday was paved with an abundance of walks they allowed to the Pirates. Clayton Kershaw, a name synonymous with the Dodgers, was responsible for half of these, walking four batters, quite unusual considering he had walked only three out of 107 batters in the whole of August. This season has witnessed Dodgers faltering pathetically with an 0-3 record whenever they concede at least eight walks.
This issue with walks is certainly not a new development for the Dodgers’ pitching staff; it’s been an unfortunate regularity throughout the season. Statistics show a dismaying 9-percent walk rate, positioning them as the seventh-highest on that undesirable list in baseball. To break it down, the Dodgers’ pitching walk rate distributed monthly is as follows: March/April saw a rate of 10.1 percent (making them 7th in MLB), an improvement was noted in May with a lower rate of 8.3 percent (17th), June saw a slight rise to 9.2 percent (5th), peaking in July at 9.6 percent (2nd), and ultimately a hopeful drop to 7.5 percent (20th) in August.
August marked the best performance of the Dodgers’ pitching staff for the season, ignited by a fully fit and functioning starting rotation that endured the entirety of the month, instilling a sense of stability within the team. This downward trend in the walk rate is what the Dodgers must harness and maintain moving forward into September and October. Ideally, they should aim to steer clear from any future games that reiterate the regrettable narrative of Tuesday night.