The Los Angeles Dodgers are ice cold at the worst possible time. With October approaching fast, the team is stumbling, unable to string together wins when they matter most. On Tuesday night, the Dodgers dropped another close game — this time to the Angels — and Shohei Ohtani found himself on the wrong side of MLB history.
“According to Baseball Almanac's tracker of every triple play in MLB history, it marked just the eighth the Angels have ever turned. As for the Dodgers, they have now fallen victim to 24 triple plays. There had never been a triple play in the 152 games between the Dodgers and Angels since the Freeway Series began in 1997,” SI’s Sam Connon wrote.
The loss proved costly in the standings. What was once a comfortable nine-game lead in the NL West has evaporated. As of Tuesday night, the Dodgers are tied with the Padres atop the division.
“Things have been going well for the Padres of late. They picked up a bunch of players like Ryan O’Hearn, Ramon Laureano and Freddy Fermin at the trade deadline to help fill holes and add depth to their roster, while also adding flame-throwing closer Mason Miller to the bullpen. The result has been an 8-3 record in August so far, and that last win, recorded on Tuesday night against the Giants, pushed the Padres into a tie for first place in the NL West,” Fox Sports wrote.
Following the loss, Dodgers first baseman Freddie Freeman didn’t sugarcoat the team’s situation.
“(Division) won’t be tied if we don’t win games. So that’s kind of our main focus right now. If we worry about outside things –– we gotta worry about inside things right now,” Freeman told the media.
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The Dodgers find themselves in unfamiliar territory — not struggling in April or May, but deep into the summer stretch. This slump may not officially decide the division just yet, but if they don't course-correct soon, the red-hot Padres could start to build separation. LA has no time to waste — the NL West race just got real.