After sweeping the Padres last week, the Dodgers have slumped this week, dropping back to second place in the NL West.

In recent days at Petco Park in San Diego, the Dodgers have struggled to produce hits.

Following just three hits in the first game of the series, the Los Angeles offense managed only two hits in tonight’s 5-1 defeat to the Padres, enabling San Diego to overtake them by one game in the NL West race.

Last week, the Dodgers swept the Padres to claim second place, but then managed only a 2-2 split against the league's bottom-ranked Rockies and lost two straight games in the division title race. Although the sweep didn’t spark a winning streak as expected, the team admitted they were not at their best against the Padres.

“Looking back at last weekend, some of their mistakes were self-inflicted,” head coach Dave Roberts noted, “We also caught a bit of luck. Though the outcome was good, there are still areas in our offense that need improvement.”

The Padres’ starting pitchers set the tone this weekend. After Yu Darvish threw six innings allowing just one hit, Nestor Cortes continued the near-perfect pitching into the sixth inning. Although Miguel Rojas broke it up with a hit, Cortes quickly retired Buddy Kennedy and Shohei Ohtani consecutively, finishing with six scoreless innings.

This marks the first time since 1906, when Stoney McGlynn of the Cardinals and Jack Pfiester of the Cubs achieved this feat on consecutive days, that an opposing starter has pitched over six innings in back-to-back games against the Dodgers while allowing only 0-1 hits. Rookie Alex Freeland, after hitting his first major league homer on Friday, added another solo shot off right-hander Jeremiah Estrada in the eighth inning on Saturday, becoming the only Dodgers player with an RBI in the first two games of the series.

“We can’t give up just because we have only one or two hits,” Rojas said frankly. “I know it’s tough—hitting is the hardest skill. But if we want to win the division and the World Series, we have to keep improving. Offensively, we need to make better in-game adjustments.”

On the other hand, although the Padres also had only three hits, they capitalized fully on Tyler Glasnow’s control issues (four walks in the game). In the fourth inning, with no outs and bases loaded, Ramón Laureano’s two-run hit and Xander Bogaerts’ sacrifice fly produced crucial runs.

“If I had pitched better today,” Glasnow admitted, “we could have won a closer game. So I take responsibility for tonight’s result.”

Regardless of who is at fault, the Dodgers are clear: to successfully defend their title, changes must be made. It’s surprising their offense still struggles late in August, but Roberts emphasized that the key is not just technical fixes, but finding a winning formula as a team.

After the loss, Rojas expressed this view in the clubhouse. Given the Dodgers’ recent championship experience and veteran depth, Roberts believes there’s no need for a special team meeting: “Change will come!”

For the Dodgers, the immediate priority is breaking through opposing starting pitchers’ dominance. This requires not only individual breakthroughs but also coordinated team pressure to sustain offense until the final out.

“We have to force the opposing starter out through in-game adjustments,” Rojas stressed. “We can’t rely on the other team’s manager to make pitching changes. We need to perform well enough to make them pull their starter — this is something we must improve.”