The Dodgers lineup also struggled in the loss to the Cardinals

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

“The road, strangely enough, was better for us,” he emphasized.

However, by the end of the night, that theory didn’t sound like much anymore.

On the way to losing three straight games for the first time this year, the Dodgers star-studded lineup went cold in a 7-2 loss to St. Louis Cardinals, managed just five hits against a Cardinals pitching staff that has the fifth-worst team ERA in the majors.

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

They got on the board first with a Max Muncy RBI double in the second. But after that, they would score once again, failing to record another hit until Hyeseong Kim hit a double with two outs in the ninth.

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

Still, for a Dodger team that has invested more than $1 billion in its hitting program in recent years, this latest slump is starting to get weird. They are now 5-8 in their last 13 games, and have scored at least five runs just five times in that stretch.

The search for good feelings, or playing at the plate, continues.

What does it mean

As part of his optimistic pregame message, Roberts said he wants hitters to “lock in our spots, have a plan, then go and execute.”

Instead, another rough night followed.

The most prominent problem of late has been the team’s impotence. In the first 22 games of the season, they hit 42 home runs with a .507 team slugging percentage (both best in the majors to that point). However, since then, they have just three long balls and a .306 slugging percentage in their last 10 games (worst in the majors over that span).

Who is hot

Anyone facing the Dodgers right now, including Cardinals left-hander Matthew Liberatore.

Entering Friday, he had a 4.75 ERA and was coming off a five-run streak in the Seattle Mariners’ slow-hitting offense. But against the Dodgers, he sailed right through, dodging traffic en route to a 5 ⅔-inning, two-run start.

After Muncy’s double in the second, the Dodgers came up empty with a 2-on, one-out chance in the third, when Kyle Tucker singled and Andy Pages hit 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 hitter, and the club had been held to five total runs during this three-game losing streak.

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Who is not

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

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

It didn’t stop him from striking out eight batters in his 4 ⅔-inning, four-run start. It wasn’t his only problem, not on a night when he gave up another home run on a solo grounder to Alex Burleson in the third.

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

Next

Like Sheehan, fellow right-hander Roki Sasaki is fighting to keep his place in the rotation for now. He will take the mound on Saturday, trying to improve on his 1-2 record and 6.35 ERA. Michael McGreevy (1-2, 2.97 ERA) goes to St.