The NL West is led by the Los Angeles Dodgers, who are pursuing the highly coveted three-peat. Despite their position in the standings, the team’s recent games have not displayed the level of play manager Dave Roberts expects, and he did not hide his frustration about it.
“I say this because it’s just been four or five, six weeks of below average production in our offense. It’s just the truth, and I think we have just haven’t played clean baseball for quite some time, and that speaks to the defense,” Roberts said to the press after losing vs Milwaukee Brewers.
With 37 games separating the Dodgers from another postseason appearance, it is clear that they need to improve significantly to be considered serious contenders. Can Roberts turn things around in the short term?
Offensive production on the decline
During August 2026, the Dodgers faced a notable offensive slump, generating an August record of just 5–11 and seeing their team wRC+ drop to 93 in the second half of the season. Throughout this stretch, the lineup struggled with a .237 team batting average and a .672 team OPS, averaging merely 3.2 runs per game during their roughest span.
Tarik Skubal #29 of the Los Angeles Dodgers talks with catcher Ben Rortvedt #47.
Kyle Tucker has struggled to meet expectations with his second-half wRC+ dipping to 97, while Mookie Betts has endured a brutal cold streak fueled by an uncharacteristically low .231 BABIP. Meanwhile, Freddie Freeman has suffered an extended power outage with a total lack of extra-base hits in key situations, and Shohei Ohtani has seen his run-producing impact severely limited as opposing pitchers continually work around him without protection behind him in the order.
Home-field advantage in jeopardy for Los Angeles
The Dodgers’ recent skid has placed their postseason home-field advantage in serious jeopardy. After dropping three of four to the Milwaukee Brewers, Los Angeles now trails Milwaukee by three games for the National League’s top record while also losing the tiebreaker edge to them.
Amid a dismal stretch over their last 16 games, the defending back-to-back champions have limped to an 18–21 mark since July 1, rapidly fading in the race for home-field positioning.
