NL West in Historic Slump as Dodgers, Rivals All Ride Losing Streaks

The Los Angeles Dodgers are not the only team in the National League West going through it at the moment.

Heading into Sunday, May 3’s slate of games, the entire division is riding its own losing streaks — the San Francisco Giants have lost five in a row, the Dodgers are on a four-game skid, and the San Diego Padres have dropped their four-game streak. The Arizona Diamondbacks and Colorado Rockies are each on three-game losing streaks.

According to Opta, this is the first time that every team in a division was on a three-game losing streak or more at the end of a given day.

At the end of Saturday’s games, the Dodgers retain a 0.5 game lead on the Padres. Additionally, Los Angeles is still up 3.5 games on the Padres, 6.5 games on the Rockies, and 7.0 games on the Giants.

The Dodgers, especially when observing them through the lens of their preseason standard as one of the greatest teams ever assembled, are off to a disappointing start.

Now, there is more than enough time for the Dodgers to start dominating like many, including themselves, expected at the start of the year.

Still, it is inarguable that other teams in the division have an opportunity to get a jump on the World Series favorites.

When is the Dodgers’ next NL West series?

The Dodgers will be facing the San Francisco Giants in May, this time at home, the Padres on the road, and the Rockies at home.

Within the division, the Padres stand out as the Dodgers’ biggest rivals. The Giants’ offense looks totally anemic, and their bullpen seems like a liability, while the Rockies are still rebuilding and far from a true threat in the division.

The Diamondbacks have talent on their roster to be solid and potentially get hot at the right time, though the Padres have the paper edge.

However, the Dodgers are a good hitting spell away from really pulling away in the division race, with all the pitching talent they have in the minor leagues and on the injured list.

The pitching staff is a real strength for the team, and they should be good all year long, which means their wins total will come down to their offense, which has been concerning early on, though it is too early to take too much from the struggles.