Sometimes the hardest truth is not the one you did not see coming — it is the one you have been ignoring for weeks. For the Dodgers, that truth arrived with the sting of a 6–7 loss to the Angels, a game the Dodgers had no business getting to extras, as per Locked On Dodgers host Travis Rodgers.
His statement was not sugar-coated: “That’s the scariest part of all… maybe this is exactly who they are, which is a flawed team, which is a deeply flawed bullpen… and despite having the greatest player walking the face of the earth doing heroic things… It’s still not good enough to win a ball game.” That was not just frustration speaking — it was the sound of a reality check hitting hard.
And there is a kicker — this is not just a single bad week; it has been a slow and steady unraveling. Since July 4, the Dodgers have stumbled to a 12–20 record, the team’s worst stretch in seasons. That slide erased their division cushion and left them neck-and-neck with the Padres for the NL West lead — the first time since 2010 the Padres have shared first place after the All-Star break. Manager Dave Roberts did not dodge the urgency, telling reporters, “Now it’s a new season… we just got to play better baseball and find ways to win games.” However, talking alone will not fix a bullpen that looks like a leaky faucet for over a month. The question is no longer whether this is a slump — it is whether the Dodgers can patch the gaps before the water rises any higher.
Freddie Freeman also did not provide a sugar-coated statement. Speaking with the bluntness only a seasoned veteran can muster, the star cut right to the heart of the matter: “(Division) won’t be tied if we don’t win games. So that’s kind of our main focus right now. If we worry about outside things–– we gotta worry about inside things right now.” Freeman’s message is clear—the Dodgers can not afford to think related to what the Padres are doing. They have to fix themselves first. While the Padres continue stacking wins and benefiting from smart trade deadline pickups like Mason Miller, Ryan O’Hearn, and Ramon Laureano, the Dodgers are left searching for answers. The season’s final stretch could become a sprint where every misstep costs them everything.
MLB, Baseball Herren, USA All Star-American League at National League Jul 15, 2025 Cumberland, Georgia, USA National League manager Dave Roberts of the Los Angeles Dodgers looks on during the second inning during the 2025 MLB All Star Game at Truist Park. Cumberland Truist Park Georgia USA, EDITORIAL USE ONLY PUBLICATIONxINxGERxSUIxAUTxONLY Copyright: xDalexZaninex 20250715_pjc_sz2_91137
If the bullpen’s inconsistency has been the Dodgers’ most glaring on-field issue, injuries have been the silent storm brewing in the background.
Tony Gonsolin’s season-ending surgery deepens Dodgers’ trouble
Just when the Dodgers needed stability from the rotation, the team was dealt a crushing blow: Tony Gonsolin is out for the rest of 2025 and a chunk of 2026 after undergoing yet another elbow surgery. This was not just a routine clean-up—it was a Tommy John revision with internal bracing and flexor repair, a process that will sideline the star for eight to ten months. For a pitcher who already missed 2024 after the first Tommy John operation, such a setback is more than just a stat on the injury list—it is a gut punch to a rotation that can not afford more turbulence.
The ripple effect is quick. Without Gonsolin, the Dodgers lose a proven star who, if not at his peak this season, provided experience and a competitive edge every fifth day. It also forces Dave Roberts and the management to shuffle the team’s already stretched pitching staff, likely leaning harder on young and untested stars and forcing bullpen games at a time when that very bullpen has been shaky. This comes in the same stretch where the team is locked in a neck-and-neck fight for the NL West crown. Losing Gonsolin now is not just related to missing a starter; it is related to losing a star of the stability puzzle right when the picture needed to be sharpest.
Source: True Blue LA website
The Dodgers’ path forward is clear, however, far from easy—patch the bullpen, tighten execution, and rediscover the consistency that once made them NL West favorites. With the Padres surging and October coming quickly, every inning now carries playoff weight. For fans, this is the moment to rally behind the Dodgers—because the season’s ending will be written by how the team reacts right now.
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