MLB NEWS

Dodgers pitchers struggle as offense comes alive

The Sports Xchange

May 04, 2016 at 11:16 pm.

ST. PETERSBURG, Fla. — The Dodgers found their bats in two nights at Tropicana Field, scoring 15 runs in a two-game split with the Rays, but they’ve still lost seven of nine games after a 12-7 start to their season.

Before coming to face the Rays, Los Angeles had totaled 12 runs in their previous seven games, their only win a 1-0 gem against the Padres on Monday. After a day off Thursday, they’ll face a potent Toronto lineup for a three-game set before returning home to face the Mets and Cardinals in a week of interleague play.

If the Dodgers’ bats returned to form against the Rays, the pitching staff struggled as it rarely has — the same staff that opened the season with three straight shutouts gave up a season-high four home runs in Wednesday’s loss.

In the first 22 games of the season, the Dodgers never allowed five runs or more in back-to-back games — they’ve now done so in five of the last six games since, including both to a Rays team that hadn’t scored five-plus in consecutive games all season.

Manager Dave Roberts said he was pleased to see his team start scoring runs again, but that offense can’t be offset by continued pitching struggles if the Dodgers want to get back to the success they had in the first three weeks of the season.