Dodgers aren’t creating enough scoring chances
The Dodgers enter Saturday on their second three-game losing streak of the year, scoring 16 runs in the two games in Chicago then nothing on Friday against the Pirates at home.
Allowing only three runs is usually a good path to winning. The Dodgers were 18-8 (.692) last season when allowing exactly three runs, and Friday’s loss dropped them to 3-2 (.600) in such games this season.
I’m not sure if there was much to take from getting dominated by Paul Skenes, who is one of a tiny number of folks in the conversation as the best pitcher in the sport. The Dodgers already beat the two reigning Cy Young Award winners this season and beat Jacob deGrom last weekend, but just couldn’t put much together on Friday.
The Dodgers batted six times with runners in scoring position in the series opener against Skenes, actually above his average this season (4.83 plate appearances per start). They just didn’t capitalize, going 0-for-6.
In a general sense, the Dodgers have done fine with runners in scoring position, hitting .257/.322/.503, tops in the majors in slugging percentage and sixth in wRC+ (121) in those situations.
But they aren’t creating enough run-scoring opportunities.
The Dodgers average 8.03 plate appearances per game with runners in scoring position, third-fewest in the majors, ahead of only the Rangers and Angels. The league-wide average is 9.89 PA per game. Last year, for comparison, the Dodgers batted the third-most often with runners in scoring position, averaging 10.49 PA per game, with MLB as a whole averaging 9.46.
Mitch Keller in his five starts this season for the Pirates averages nearly as few chances in scoring position against him as Skenes, at 5.2 PA per game, and has allowed only five singles and two walks in those situations.
Last August the Dodgers created their own scoring position, with home runs by Freddie Freeman and Shohei Ohtani against Keller, en route to scoring seven runs against him in four innings.
