For the first time since April 27, the Los Angeles Dodgers are no longer in first place after getting swept in a three-game series by freeway rival Los Angeles Angels. The reigning World Series champions are playing as poorly as one of the worst teams of all time.
During an appearance on the “Foul Territory” podcast, ESPN’s Alden Gonzalez revealed that the Dodgers have the same record as the Colorado Rockies since the Fourth of July.
“It’s a prolonged stretch of bad for them. July 3, they had a nine-game lead in the NL West. Since then, they are 12-22. You know who has a 12-22 record since July 4 along with the Dodgers? It’s the Colorado Rockies. That’s how the Dodgers have been playing,” said Gonzalez.
Record-wise, the Dodgers are playing very similarly to the Rockies since early July, as @Alden_Gonzalez points out. 😬
— Foul Territory (@FoulTerritoryTV) August 14, 2025
"The problem is that there's urgency right now, and over these next few weeks, nobody has any idea who's going to be closing games." pic.twitter.com/ITlaPHWya5
The Rockies are 32-88 and on pace to break the all-time modern loss record set by the Chicago White Sox last year of 121.
The Dodgers have been dealing with a litany of injuries to their pitching staff and failed to upgrade their bullpen with high-leverage relievers like Jhoan Duran (Philadelphia Phillies), Mason Miller (San Diego Padres), Ryan Helsley (New York Mets) and David Bednar (New York Yankees).
“The biggest thing right now and it stood out in this series, especially the last two nights, on any given night Dave Roberts doesn’t really have a high-leverage reliever to turn to to hold leads,” Gonzalez explained. “Blake Treinen hasn’t looked right since coming back off the IL and there are six high-leverage guys on the injured list right now.”
“The natural question is, why didn’t the Dodgers go do more? They were in on other high-leverage guys. They weren’t willing to give up their best prospects to get them.”
The Dodgers should get a boost to their bullpen as Tanner Scott, Michael Kopech and Kirby Yates are expected to return by the end of the month, but that might not be soon enough.
“The problem is that there’s urgency right now. Over these next few weeks, nobody has any idea who’s going to be closing games for the Dodgers, let alone bridging the gap to the ninth inning, the seventh and eighth,” said Gonzalez. “And when you couple that with an offense that’s been better lately, but still not as good as it should be, what you get is this, and it’s a club that hasn’t really spiraled like this in years. It’s pretty insane to watch on a nightly basis, I’ll be honest.”
LA’s bullpen ranks 20th in ERA in baseball at 4.22.
The Dodgers have a critical three-game series beginning Friday at home against the first-place Padres.
