Thursday, April 10, 2025
Copyrighted by Sarah Morris, 2025
The Los Angeles Dodgers have 10 wins and 4 losses, which is good for third place in the National League Western Division. Every baseball pundit thinks the Dodgers are the best team in the major leagues, but the Dodgers have problems with pitching, defense, and offense. By the end of the season, the Dodgers will be in the playoffs, but if they don’t improve, they will be forced into a Wild Card series.
During the home stand, the Dodgers’ pitching managed to wiggle out of runner-on-base situations scorelessly, but on the road, they couldn’t. Sometimes, the defense made errors, but the Dodgers have given up the most walks, 67, in the major leagues.
The Dodgers must consistently find the strike zone if they want to have a good defense. No infielder can be sharp when a pitcher is walking everyone, and he will daydream. Yoshinobu Yamamoto and Dustin May have had reasonably good control. May struggled to find the strike zone on Monday against the Washington Nationals when he walked 3, but the weather was cold.
Roki Sasaki had a control problem in his first two starts, but on Saturday against the Philadelphia Phillies, he walked only two in four innings. Since Sasaki never had control problems in Japan, he should be okay.
Neither Justin Wrobleski nor Landon Knack had any control of their pitches. Their lack of control put undue stress on the bullpen, which was a lifesaver. Ben Casparius and Jack Dreyer have performed outstandingly, saving the rest of the relievers.
Andy Pages has difficulty learning how to play center field. He needs patience while he learns to play the most important outfield position on the major league level. Sometimes, Pages has made a few great defensive plays.
The offense has had problems. At the bottom of the lineup, nobody is getting on for Shohei Ohtani to drive in, even though Pages blasted two solo home runs in the last two games against the Washington Nationals. Not having runners on for Ohtani, the best Dodger hitter, is a huge problem.
The Dodgers are too reliant on home runs. They need a higher batting average than they have to be a competitive offense. On Tuesday, the Dodgers struck out fifteen times.
The Dodgers are missing having Freddie Freeman, their pure hitter, in the lineup. The Dodgers expect their regular first baseman back on Friday. His return will strengthen the lineup, even though Kiké Hernández might be a better defensive first baseman than Freeman with a balky ankle.
The Dodgers will be okay, but it will be a tough April until either Blake Snell or Tony Gonsolin returns from injury.
