ST. LOUIS — Symptoms persist.
Whatever funk has infected the Dodgers’ lineup, it followed them to the Midwest where another mild offensive output led to a 7-2 loss to the St. Louis Cardinals on Friday night.
The Dodgers are now 4-6 over their past 10 games, a stretch that has seen them bat .211 (71 for 337) as a team and average 3.6 runs per game. A lineup filled with underperforming stars has managed two runs or fewer in five of those 10 games – including the last three in a row, their first three-game losing streak this season.
Friday’s offensive output amounted to a single run in the second inning on a two-out RBI double by Max Muncy and another solo score in the sixth inning on a sacrifice fly by Kyle Tucker.
The Dodgers had the bases loaded with one out in that sixth but made the least of it with Tucker and Andy Pages flying out.
That wasn’t enough to overcome another troubling start from Emmet Sheehan.
Sheehan struck out eight in just 4⅔ innings, but he did most of that work with his slider. His fastball continues to lose velocity and averaged a season-low 93.4 mph against the Cardinals.
One of those arrived at the plate at just 92.9 mph chest-high and was clubbed by Nolan Gorman for a two-run first-inning home run.
That was one of four hits Sheehan allowed in the first inning. Singles by Ivan Herrera and Jordan Walker put two runners on. Will Smith’s wild pickoff throw moved them up and Sheehan balked one run home. Three pitches later he served up the batting-practice fastball to Gorman.
Alec Burleson got a hanging slider and hit a solo home run off Sheehan in the third inning, effectively putting the game away for the Cardinals with four runs – a total the Dodgers haven’t reached offensively since Monday.
They put it conventionally out of reach with three runs in the seventh inning against Edgardo Henriquez. Walker drove in two of the runs with a double, the last of his four hits in the game. Teoscar Hernandez misplayed the ball in the left-field corner, allowing Walker to reach third. He scored on a ground ball.
More to come on this story.