The Dodgers were shut out by the Giants in an entire series this week, becoming the first team since 2010 to go scoreless in three straight games. Worse, in the finale against San Francisco, they lost Andre Ethier to a strained oblique that will probably put him on the DL. It’s going to lead to some lineups that look like this for the next couple of weeks:
SS Dee Gordon
2B Jerry Hairston Jr.
RF Bobby Abreu
LF Juan Rivera
1B James Loney
C A.J. Ellis
3B Juan Uribe
CF Tony Gwynn Jr.
With Elian Herrera, Adam Kennedy and maybe Josh Fields or Scott Van Slyke also in the mix.
Even with Ethier playing regularly, the Dodgers have the worst OPS in the majors this month. They’re hitting .219/.295/.295 in 25 games during June. They have just six homers, half as many as the team in 29th place in that category (the Padres).
Assuming that Ethier lands on the DL, here will be their leading home run hitters on the active roster:
Ellis - 6
Rivera - 3
Loney - 2
Abreu - 2
Hairston - 2
Matt Treanor - 2
So, yeah, things look bleak. But I’ll buck the odds anyway; it may not happen tonight or even this weekend, but the Dodgers will score again. Call it a gut feeling.