“Below Average” — Disappointed Dodgers Manager Calls Out Clubhouse After Bitter Sweep by D’Backs

For a club that became the first to reach the 60-win mark this season, getting swept by a team barely hanging on to its postseason hopes is never a good look. The Arizona Diamondbacks have struggled against teams over .500, but at Dodger Stadium, they were as dominant as they could be. And of course, that left manager Dave Roberts disappointed.

“Some mental lapses, some physical lapses, and something that we’ve been really good at is not giving away games because of our defense. This last week, it’s just been below average for sure,” he said, via Bleed Los: Dodgers & MLB News Podcast.

A leadoff homer from Shohei Ohtani. Then, a two-run single by Tommy Edman. The Los Angeles Dodgers led 3-0 by the fourth inning and looked poised to close out the first half with a win. But it didn’t go the way they had hoped. The Arizona Diamondbacks swept them on their home turf. The defending back-to-back World Series champions were outscored 23-8 over the three-game series and have now gone 2-5 in their last seven games.

“We didn’t play good defense, and then situationally we weren’t good offensively. So when you do that, you lose three,” Roberts added. 

The Dodgers lost 9-3 in the first game and followed it up with a 9-2 defeat in the second. Although they were looking to win the third, the pitchers gave away a little too many runs, and the offense lost its momentum after the third inning. The team went 0-for-18 after Edman’s two-RBI single, and the D’backs capitalized on the Dodgers’ defensive errors to mount a comeback. The rally handed the Dodgers a 5-3 loss in the series finale.

The Dodgers had already lost seven series before this one. But the LA side had never looked so defeated. The last time Dave Roberts and his team faced the D’backs was in early June, when they tied the four-game series. This time, however, it felt completely one-sided in Arizona’s favor.

That’s why Dave Roberts admitted that the All-Star break arrives at a crucial moment, and it will allow the Dodgers to reset and rearm before the second half. And Shohei Ohtani is already doing the same. 

He has been troubled with knee inflammation for some time. While the two-way star can comfortably serve as a hitter, the team has taken him off pitching duties. The 32-year-old will also skip the Midsummer Classic to recover. In fact, the team had to play a bullpen game without him starting on the mound this Friday, and they tanked the game.

So, this break will be a great opportunity for the Dodgers, who don’t appear to be as dominant as they usually are. But the manager didn’t put it all on his team’s poor performance. Roberts gave credit where it was due.

“[The D’backs] outplayed us. They wanted it more,” he acknowledged. “You’re facing a team that’s fighting for their lives, and it showed this series.”

The sweep may be over, but Roberts’ analysis will probably linger in the clubhouse throughout the All-Star break. For a team with championship expectations, “below average” is a label the Dodgers will be eager to erase when they return to action.

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