The Dodgers held their annual Family Day on the field at Dodger Stadium on Sunday, rolling food trucks, bounce houses and a climbing wall onto the warning track in left field. Few of the players seemed to be in a festive mood, however.
That’s because the Dodgers warmed up for Family Day with a 6-5 loss to the Milwaukee Brewers, the team’s third straight loss and the 10th in 12 games in which they’ve been outscored 71-36. It’s the team’s worst 12-game skid since 2018.
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The loss was also the sixth in as many tries against the Brewers in the last two weeks, making Milwaukee the first team to sweep a season series of more than four games from the Dodgers in 20 years.
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“Guys are getting frustrated,” manager Dave Roberts said. “You see kind of more emotion coming in. We just haven’t played good baseball.”
But it gets worse: the Dodgers (58-42) might have lost first baseman Freddie Freeman for a spell. Freeman, who is among the team leaders in batting average (.292) and is third in runs (47) and hits (95), sustained a left wrist contusion after being hit by a José Quintana pitch in the sixth inning. Roberts said X-rays on Freeman’s wrist were negative and the first baseman is considered day to day.
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“That one, I held my breath,” Roberts said. “I think we all did, because, you know, when you’re scuffling and to potentially lose a guy for four-to-six weeks is obviously very scary.”
In Freeman’s absence, catcher Dalton Rushing could play at first base.
As for the rest of what ails the Dodgers, that could be a lot harder to fix.
On Sunday they made three errors, leading to two unearned runs. They gave up the lead twice and Mookie Betts lined out to center with the bases loaded to end the game.
“We’ve got to figure it out. We’ve got to play better,” Betts whispered in an empty clubhouse after going one for five, leaving him with a .189 average in July and as many strikeouts as hits.
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Across the room Clayton Kershaw cut short a scrum with reporters. He pitched well enough Sunday, but his day was undone in a three-run Milwaukee fourth in which a Tommy Edman throwing error and a fielding error by Andy Pages gave the Brewers two runs and forced Kershaw to throw 29 pitches.
Dodgers pitcher Clayton Kershaw delivers in the fifth inning Sunday against the Brewers. (Robert Gauthier / Los Angeles Times)
“I’m frustrated. We’re all frustrated. I don’t know how else to say it,” said Kershaw, who was visibly angry after being pulled from the game in the fifth inning. “We didn’t win a game. No excuses. We’ve just got to play better.
“I don’t have much to say,” he added. “I’m going to get myself in trouble. So let’s just call it.”
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The Dodgers gave Kershaw an early lead with a three-run third inning, the big blow a two-run homer by Shohei Ohtani, his 34th of the season. The defense gave all three runs back in the fourth, however.
“It’s frustrating,” Roberts repeated. “That’s the word everyone uses when things aren’t going well, but you also have to make your own breaks. And when things are tough, you can’t do things to sabotage yourself. Today, specifically, it was the defense.”
Hyeseong Kim slides safely into first, beating the tag of Milwaukee Brewers first baseman Andrew Vaughn on a pickoff attempt in the sixth inning Sunday. (Robert Gauthier / Los Angeles Times)
Esteury Ruiz’s first home run for the Dodgers put them back in front in the fifth, but the Brewers (59-40) went in front to stay in the sixth, scoring three times off relievers Alex Vesia and Lou Trivino (3-1) on a double, three singles and a walk.
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The Dodgers’ bullpen earned-run average of 4.39 ranks 12th in the National League. The team hasn’t gotten a scoreless game from its bullpen since July 3.
“You’ve got to kind of find a way to reset,” Roberts said before heading back up the dugout steps for Family Day. “Come back fresh tomorrow and play good baseball.”
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Snell and Treinen continue rehab
Pitchers Blake Snell and Blake Treinen made rehab appearances for triple-A Oklahoma City on Sunday.
Snell, who has been on the injured list since April 6 because of left shoulder inflammation, made 58 pitches over four innings, giving up a run on four hits while striking out six. It was his third rehab appearance.
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Treinen, out since April 19 with a forearm strain, followed with a perfect fifth inning in which he struck out two. He could return to the Dodgers’ roster this week.
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This story originally appeared in Los Angeles Times.
