5 statistical reasons the Dodgers slump raises real World Series concerns

The Dodgers continue to say they aren’t concerned about their ongoing, midseason slump.But as losers of eight of their last nine games, and 15 of 24 overall, the external alarm bells are getting uncomfortably loud.No longer is this just one bad week.No longer can the team’s form be written off as the kind of routine lull that is inevitable in a 162-game season.Potentially fatal flaws have been exposed.

Cracks in the two-time defending champions’ armor are becoming clear.As the team returns home this week –– hoping that Tarik Skubal’s Dodger Stadium debut and Blake Snell’s activation from the injured list can help turn the tide –– here are five stats that epitomize the team’s struggles, and pose real threats to their chances of winning a third-straight World Series title.As in, the number of regular starting position players the team has been missing during this stretch.Above all else, the fact that a (mostly) healthy Dodgers lineup has ranked bottom-10 in the majors in both runs and OPS not only during this losing streak, but going all the way back to the start of July, is alarming.Will Smith’s absence hasn’t been helpful.But an offense spearheaded by Shohei Ohtani, Freddie Freeman, Kyle Tucker, Mookie Betts and so many other All-Stars and impact bats should be immune to extended slumps like this.Instead, they are enduring one for the second time this year (remember how familiar things felt in late April and early May).

And while they’ll undoubtedly snap out of it at some point, it’s a reminder that back weeks –– or months –– are still possible for this group.And the threat of it happening again in October stands as the biggest worry for the team’s three-peat hopes.A hat tip to The Athletic’s Eno Sarris for first highlighting this last week: The Dodgers have been increasingly hounded by fastballs from opposing pitching staffs this year, and are doing little as an offense to counteract the strategy.In April and May, the club ...