ST. LOUIS –– Dodgers manager Dave Roberts said he had a “good feeling” about his slumping offense at the start of a six-game road trip Friday afternoon.

“The road, ironically, has been better for us,” he insisted. 

By the end of the night, however, that theory couldn’t have felt less true.

En route to losing three straight games for the first time this year, the Dodgers star-studded lineup remained ice cold in a 7-2 defeat to the St. Louis Cardinals, managing just five hits against a Cardinals pitching staff with the fifth-worst team ERA in the majors.

For a fourth-straight game, the Dodgers (20-12) failed to hit a home run, the longest homer drought for the club since June 2023. And the few times they did get runners aboard, they couldn’t capitalize, going 0-for-6 with runners in scoring position while leaving eight men stranded on base.

They initially got on the board via a Max Muncy RBI double in the second. But after that, they’d score just one more time, failing to record another extra-base hit until Hyeseong Kim’s double with two outs in the ninth.

It didn’t help that, early on Friday, the Cardinals (19-13) jumped out to a 3-0 first-inning lead against Emmet Sheehan. 

Still, for a Dodgers team that has invested more than $1 billion into its batting order in recent years, this recent slump is starting to grow maddening. They’re now 5-8 in their last 13 games, and have scored at least five runs only five times in that stretch.

The search for good feelings, or performances at the plate, goes on.

What it means

As part of his optimistic pregame message, Roberts said he wanted his hitters to be “really locking in on our zones, having a plan, and then going and executing.”

Instead, another listless night followed.

The most glaring problem of late has been the club’s lack of power. In the season’s first 22 games, they belted 42 home runs with a .507 team slugging percentage (both best in the majors up to that point). Since then, however, they have only three long balls and a .306 slugging percentage in their last 10 games (worst in the majors over that span).

Who’s hot

Anyone who gets to pitch against the Dodgers right now, including even Cardinals left-hander Matthew Liberatore.

Entering Friday, he had a 4.75 ERA and was coming off a five-run clunker to the light-hitting Seattle Mariners offense. But against the Dodgers, he cruised right along, navigating traffic en route to a 5 ⅔-inning, two-run start.

After Muncy’s double in the second, the Dodgers came up empty in a two-on, no-out opportunity in the third, when Kyle Tucker lined out and Andy Pages hit into an inning-ending double-play. In the sixth, the bases were loaded with one out, but a sacrifice fly from Tucker was all the Dodgers could produce.

By the end of the night, Shohei Ohtani was 0-for-5, Freddie Freeman was the team’s only batter with multiple hits, and the club had been held to five total runs during this three-game losing skid. 

---

Download The California Post App, follow us on social, and subscribe to our newsletters

Who’s not

A couple starts ago, Emmet Sheehan thought his fastball velocity troubles were behind him. Since then, the problem has only gotten worse.

On Friday, the right-hander averaged a season-low 93.4 mph with his four-seamer –– including a 92.9 mph heater in the first inning that Nolan Gorman hit for a two-run homer, and another at 89.7 mph in the fourth that marked the slowest fastball of his MLB career.

It didn’t prevent him from still striking out eight batters in his 4 ⅔-inning, four-run start. It wasn’t his only issue either, not on a night he balked in a run and gave up another solo home on a low slider to Alex Burleson in the third.

But with the Dodgers facing a key rotation decision as Blake Snell nears his return, Sheehan’s lack of velocity (he averaged 95.6 mph with his fastball last year) will nonetheless remain a concern, especially with his overall ERA still up at 5.23.

Up next

Like Sheehan, fellow right-hander Roki Sasaki is fighting to keep his rotation spot at the moment. He’ll take the mound Saturday, trying to improve his 1-2 record and 6.35 ERA. Michael McGreevy (1-2, 2.97 ERA) goes for St. Louis.