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The Dodgers lost to the Chicago Cubs on Monday night, extending their losing streak to five games despite a quality start from Tarik Skubal in his first outing in Dodger blue, per the LA Times. Skubal did his part — six innings of strong pitching — but the offense went quiet and L.A. couldn’t capitalize on the performance.

Skubal, acquired in the blockbuster deal that headlined the Dodgers’ trade deadline, came into this start with enormous expectations. The left-hander had been the American League’s most dominant pitcher over the past two seasons with the Detroit Tigers, winning the 2024 AL Cy Young Award after posting a 2.39 ERA with 228 strikeouts in 192 innings that year. He was the singular starting pitching target for the Dodgers at the deadline — Andrew Friedman and the front office weren’t shopping around for alternatives. They wanted Skubal and they got him. His debut backed up why: six innings and six strikeouts is exactly the kind of outing this rotation needed, especially with Tyler Glasnow still working his way back through rehab starts. The issue wasn’t Skubal. The issue was everything around him.

The offense has been a problem during this skid, and Monday was the most frustrating version of it. When you go out and acquire a pitcher of Skubal’s caliber, you expect the lineup to hold up its end of the bargain. This is a team built to score runs. Mookie Betts, Freddie Freeman, Shohei Ohtani — the names are right there in the lineup card. But good lineups go cold sometimes, and five straight losses is the kind of stretch that tests your patience even when you know the talent is there.

The five-game losing streak is the Dodgers’ longest of the season, and it comes at an awkward time — right as the team is trying to integrate new pieces from the deadline. Ben Rortvedt and Joey Feduccia were just activated. Kutter Crawford (acquired as part of the Skubal deal fallout in roster shuffling) and Emmet Sheehan are sorting out their roles. Eric Lauer is staying in the rotation. There’s a lot of movement, and losing streaks during transitional periods aren’t unusual — but they’re still annoying.

I’m not worried about this team long-term. The rotation is about to look significantly different once Glasnow returns and Skubal settles in. But the offense needs to wake up. You can’t hand your new ace a loss in his debut when he gives you six quality innings. That’s a waste, plain and simple. The Cubs series wraps up soon, and this group needs to turn the page quickly. Five straight is enough.

Source(s): Staff (LA Times) | First reported: August 5, 2026 3:16 AM UTC

God Bless and Go Dodgers