Dodgers’ Offensive Funk Continues as Giants Rally Late Behind Bullpen Collapse in 9-3 Loss
The Los Angeles Dodgers continued to search for answers offensively Monday night as the San Francisco Giants broke a late tie and pulled away for a 9-3 victory at UNIQLO Field at Dodger Stadium.
The Giants improved to 17-24 and climbed to fourth place in the NL West, while the Dodgers dropped to 24-17 and fell into second place in the division. First pitch came at 7:10 p.m. PDT in front of 44,298 fans, and the game lasted 3 hours and 3 minutes.
For six innings, the Dodgers appeared positioned to snap out of their recent offensive funk and salvage a strong outing from rookie right-hander Roki Sasaki. Instead, Sasaki ran out of gas in the 6th, then, uncharacteristically, the bullpen unravelled in the seventh and ninth innings. And, the offense produced another inconsistent night, and it all sent Los Angeles to its fourth loss in five games.
The Dodgers will try to bounce back Tuesday night when they continue the series against San Francisco. Yoshinobu Yamamoto is expected to start for Los Angeles opposite Giants Right-Hander Adrian Houser.
Sasaki Flashes Elite Stuff, But Mistakes Prove Costly
The Dodgers have continued to believe in Sasaki’s upside despite an uneven first month in the majors, and Monday’s outing showed both the brilliance and volatility that have defined his rookie season.
Sasaki was credited with five innings, but took the mound in the 6th, but couldn’t record an out in that frame, and left after giving back-to-back singles, then a 2 RBI double from Heliot Ramos. On the night he allowed just one other run in the 2nd inning, he struck out five and walked one. His ERA rose to 5.88 on the season, but the raw stuff remained electric throughout the night.
The 23-year-old reached 99.5 mph with his fastball and averaged 97.3 mph on 47 four-seamers. He also generated significant swing-and-miss with his splitter, which produced an impressive 47 percent whiff rate and accounted for three of his five strikeouts.
His pitch mix leaned heavily on the fastball-splitter combination:
52 percent four-seam fastballs
35 percent splitters
11 percent sliders
2 percent sinkers
Sasaki induced 12 whiffs overall and generated a 30 percent called strike plus whiff rate, showing why the Dodgers remain convinced he can become a frontline starter despite inconsistent results early in the year.
Still, San Francisco capitalized when he left pitches in dangerous spots and did damage on his mistakes.
The first damage came in the second inning when Rafael Devers crushed a solo homer to right-center field, his fifth homer of the season, giving San Francisco a 1-0 lead.
Sasaki escaped a major threat in the third after allowing a single to Luis Arraez and hitting Casey Schmitt with a pitch following a walk to Jesús Rodríguez.
“I thought my stuff was good overall, but I made a couple mistakes in key situations,” Sasaki said. “Against major league hitters, especially a lineup like that, they don’t miss those mistakes.”
The biggest swing against Sasaki came in the sixth inning. Casey Schmitt singled and Devers followed with a base hit before Heliot Ramos lined a two-run double into left field, flipping a 2-1 Dodgers lead into a 3-2 Giants advantage.
Even so, there were positives beneath the final line. Sasaki’s velocity held deep into the outing, his splitter remained devastating at times, and he continued showing improved strike efficiency compared to earlier starts.
Over his last 2 starts, Sasaki has posted a 4.91 ERA across 11 innings, and the Dodgers still view him as a critical long-term piece of the rotation.
Dodgers Choose Kim Over Freeland Amid Offensive Struggles
One of the more notable pregame decisions involved Hyeseong Kim getting the start over Alex Freeland at second base.
Manager Dave Roberts explained before the game that Kim’s defensive consistency, athleticism, and ability to impact the game with speed continue to give him an edge despite recent offensive struggles. Roberts also pointed to Kim’s overall body of work and versatility during this difficult offensive stretch.
Kim entered the night hitting .282 on the season with a .730 OPS, while Freeland carried a .235 average and .646 OPS. However, both players have cooled considerably recently. Over the last seven days, Kim was hitting .154 while Freeland was batting just .091.
The Dodgers have increasingly prioritized defense and contact ability amid a lineup-wide slump that has left Roberts searching for more consistency.
Kim finished 0-for-2 with a strikeout before being pinch-hit for by Miguel Rojas in the sixth inning.
Dodgers Briefly Grab Momentum
Los Angeles finally broke through in the fourth inning after loading the bases against Giants starter Trevor McDonald.
Freddie Freeman singled, Kyle Tucker followed with a base hit, and Will Smith lined another single into center field to load the bases with one out. Max Muncy then punched an RBI single to right field to tie the game 1-1.
One batter later, Andy Pages grounded into a double play, but Tucker scored on the play to give the Dodgers a 2-1 lead.
Muncy also hammered a solo homer to left-center field, his 11th home run of the season, tying the game 3-3.
The veteran third baseman has quietly become the Dodgers’ most productive hitter over the last month. Over the last 30 days, Muncy is hitting .301 with a 1.010 OPS, seven homers, and 13 RBIs.
He finished Monday night 2-for-4 with two RBIs and now owns a .280 average and .943 OPS for the season.
Freeman added two hits and raised his average to .273, while Will Smith collected two hits of his own and lifted his season average to .270.
But once again, the Dodgers struggled to string together sustained offense.
Los Angeles finished just 2-for-10 with runners in scoring position and left eight runners on base. Shohei Ohtani went 0-for-5 with two strikeouts, continuing a difficult recent stretch.
Over his last 15 days, Ohtani is batting just .105 with a .393 OPS. Over the last 30 days, he’s hitting .200 with only one homer and a .621 OPS.
Meanwhile, several key hitters remain stuck in prolonged slumps:
Teoscar Hernández: .213 average over last 30 days
Hyeseong Kim: .226 over last 15 days
Dalton Rushing: .167 over last 15 days
Miguel Rojas: hitless in his last 17 at-bats
The offense has increasingly become dependent on Muncy and Pages carrying the middle of the lineup. Andy Pages entered Monday hitting .319 over his last 15 days with four homers and a .943 OPS, while Kyle Tucker had produced a .417 OBP over that same span.
“We’re definitely in a little funk offensively right now,” Max Muncy admitted after the game. “It feels like we’re one hit away a lot of nights and just not getting it.”
Bullpen Falters After Strong Stretch
The Dodgers’ bullpen has quietly been one of the strengths of the team over the last month, making Monday’s collapse particularly jarring.
Entering the night:
Tanner Scott had a 1.86 ERA over his last 30 days
Jack Dreyer carried a 2.03 ERA over the last month
Kyle Hurt had allowed just one earned run all season
Brock Stewart had not allowed a run in his first two appearances
Blake Treinen had been steadily improving after a rocky start
But after Treinen delivered a clean sixth inning Monday, the game unraveled quickly.
Alex Vesia entered the seventh inning with the game tied 3-3 and immediately ran into trouble. Jung Hoo Lee and Luis Arraez singled before Casey Schmitt added another hit to load the bases.
Vesia then walked Devers to force home the go-ahead run, ending his outing.
Will Klein inherited the jam and nearly escaped after striking out Heliot Ramos, but Willy Adames ripped a two-run single to right field to extend the Giants’ lead to 6-3.
The ninth inning became even uglier.
Wyatt Mills walked Schmitt, intentionally walked Devers, walked Ramos, and later walked Matt Chapman as San Francisco piled on three more runs. Adames added another RBI single, and Jesús Rodríguez chipped in an RBI groundout.
The bullpen combination of Vesia, Klein, and Mills allowed six runs over the final three innings.
Vesia, who has been fantastic all year, saw his ERA jump to 3.38, while Mills’ ERA ballooned to 20.25 after another difficult appearance.
“We’re frustrated, obviously,” Roberts said. “But I still believe in this group completely. We’ve got too much talent offensively and too many proven guys for this to last forever. We’ll come out of it.”
Signs of Concern — and Hope
The Dodgers’ recent skid has exposed several underlying issues:
Too many strikeouts in key moments
Heavy reliance on home runs
Inconsistent production from the top of the lineup
Still, there are reasons for optimism.
Muncy has rediscovered his power stroke. Pages continues emerging as one of the Dodgers’ most dynamic hitters. Freeman and Tucker continue reaching base consistently. The bullpen, despite Monday’s collapse, has largely performed well.
And Sasaki’s raw arsenal continues to flash elite upside even as he navigates the adjustment to major league lineups.
The challenge now is turning those flashes into consistency before the Dodgers lose further ground as they wake up today in 2nd place behind the Padres by a 1/2 game.
