Is it because the Dodgers are becoming increasingly difficult to go straight to the DS because they said it was a super team, but they lost two consecutive games in the last place in the East?

Sep 04, 2025

Is it because the Dodgers are becoming increasingly difficult to go straight to the DS because they said it was a super team, but they lost two consecutive games in the last place in the East?
LA Dodgers Shohei Ohtani is regretful with his head tilted after striking out in the first inning against the Pittsburgh Pirates at PNC Park on the 4th (Korea time). AP Yonhap News



The Los Angeles Dodgers may have to start this year's fall baseball with the "1st gateway".

In the Major League postseason, six teams from each league will advance to compete for the World Series (WS) supremacy through the Wild Card Series (WCS), the Division Series (DS), and the League Championship Series (LCS).

However, two teams with high winning rates among the three district winners in each league go straight to the DS without going through the WCS. In other words, if the Dodgers want to go straight to the DS, they need to secure the second NL win rate while ranking first in the Western District. However, as of the 4th (Korea time), the Dodgers are ranking third among the top teams in the three districts with 78 wins and 61 losses.




The first place is the Milwaukee Brewers (86-54), who are leading the Central District, and the second place is the Philadelphia Phillies (80-59), who are leading the Eastern District. The Dodgers and Philadelphia are two games apart.

The Dodgers lost to the Pittsburgh Pirates 0-3 at PNC Park, losing two consecutive games, and the looting series was confirmed. He missed the opportunity to catch up with Philadelphia as he was caught up by Pittsburgh (63 wins and 77 losses), the lowest ranking team in the NL East.

As of today, the FanGraphs suggested a 43.3% probability that the Dodgers will go straight to the DS. Philadelphia has this probability of 52.0 percent. In other words, even if the Dodgers win the Western Division championship, chances are high that it will start with the WCS.




Is it because the Dodgers are becoming increasingly difficult to go straight to the DS because they said it was a super team, but they lost two consecutive games in the last place in the East?
Shohei Otani hits an infield hit in the seventh inning. ImagesYonhap News
The Dodgers advanced to the postseason for the 12th consecutive year from 2013 to last year. It is the longest record among the 30 teams. Among them, 11 seasons except 2021 were eligible for the district championship team. The Dodgers, who have virtually confirmed their postseason tickets this year, are likely to win the district championship.

However, it is increasingly likely to start with WCS. The Dodgers have played fall baseball twice in the last 12 years, starting with WCS in 2020 and 2021. In 2020, which was the shortened season, eight teams from both leagues went to the postseason and played WCS, so it is actually only one time in 2021 that they failed to go straight to DS. Could drop to WCS in 4 years.

This is because the Dodgers' performance has been on the decline in the second half of the year. In particular, the offense is not as strong as the first half. While recording one win and four losses in five games since the game against the Arizona Diamondbacks on the 30th of last month, he marked a team batting average of 0.222 (36 hits in 162 at-bats), three team home runs, an average score of 2.6 points, and a team OPS of 0.625. In the same period, he ranked 29th overall in average score.




During this period, Shohei Ohtani played his part with 0.350 (7 hits in 20 at-bats), one home run, two RBIs, and an OPS of 1.059, but most of the main hitters, including Teoscar Hernandez (0.154, one RBI, OPS 0.467), Freddie Freeman (0.176, one RBI, OPS 0.627), Michael Confoto (0.000, OPS 0.222), and Andy Pazs (0.211, one home run, three RBIs, OPS 0.579), suffered a slump.

Is it because the Dodgers are becoming increasingly difficult to go straight to the DS because they said it was a super team, but they lost two consecutive games in the last place in the East?
Teoscar Hernandez is hitting Ohtani when he hit a solo home run in the third inning against Pittsburgh on the 3rd (Korea time). AFP Yonhap News
Is it because the Dodgers are becoming increasingly difficult to go straight to the DS because they said it was a super team, but they lost two consecutive games in the last place in the East?
Will Smith roars around the base after hitting a walk-off home run in the bottom of the ninth inning against Arizona on the 1st (Korea time). ImagesYonhap News
In the game against Pittsburgh on the same day, the Dodgers' batters had only five hits. Among them, Ohtani had two hits. Moreover, Will Smith, the main catcher, was hit on the right hand by Gonzalez's foul ball in the second inning of defense. The ball hit Smith's right bare hand as it slightly brushed Gonzalez's bat. Smith finished the inning, but was replaced at the plate in the top of the third inning. Fortunately, the X-ray showed no abnormalities in the bone.

In addition, the Dodgers starter was Ohtani, but he was replaced by Emmett's deadline due to symptoms of a cold before the game. He gave up five hits and two walks in four ⅔ innings, allowing two runs to lose the game. Would Ohtani have been able to prevent the loss if he had taken the mound in normal condition.

In the end, the batting lineup is the problem. The Dodgers scored 477 points through June, ranking No. 1 overall in the category, but after July, they ranked 23rd with 230 points. Ohtani has a batting average of 0.269 (54 for 201), 17 homers, 33 RBIs and 43 runs in 53 games since July. Although it fell slightly compared to the batting average of 0.287, 29 homers, 54 RBIs and 82 runs in 83 previous games, the Dodgers' deterioration in offense is not due to Ohtani, as shown by their batting average of 0.291, 14 homers, 27 RBIs, 34 runs and OPS 1.021 in the second half.

In the second half of the year, Teoscar, Pazas and Smith's destructive power was somewhat reduced, and it is analyzed that the overall offensive power fell after third baseman Max Muncy injured his knee in early July and went on the injured list.





This article was translated by Naver AI translator.