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The Dodgers’ losing streak has reached six games — their worst stretch of the 2026 season, per Fabian Ardaya at The New York Times. For a defending World Series champion club that entered August expecting to separate from the pack, this is the opposite of what anyone in the building wanted. The skid continued in Chicago, where even Tarik Skubal‘s strong debut couldn’t prevent another loss.

Skubal, acquired as the team’s sole starting pitching target at the trade deadline, gave us exactly what we hoped for in his first outing in Dodger blue — six innings, six strikeouts, competitive throughout. The problem hasn’t been him. The offense has gone cold at the worst possible time, unable to provide run support even when the pitching holds up its end. That’s the frustrating part of this streak: it’s not one glaring issue. It’s a team-wide stall.

The injury picture hasn’t helped. Freddie Freeman took a hit-by-pitch on his hand during the Cubs series, though X-rays came back negative — a small piece of good news in an otherwise rough week. Meanwhile, Bristol Rushing‘s MRI revealed a slightly torn UCL in his right elbow, and the Dodgers have already said they aren’t counting on him to return behind the plate this season. That’s a real blow to our catching depth, even with Ben Rortvedt and Cal Feduccia activated earlier this week.

On the pitching side, there’s at least some light ahead. Blake Snell and Tyler Glasnow both made rehab starts on the same day as Skubal’s debut. Glasnow looked sharp in his outing with Ontario, and if both can rejoin the rotation relatively soon, we’re looking at a completely different pitching staff than the one currently grinding through this streak. That reinforcement can’t come fast enough.

Six straight losses stings, no question. But I think context matters here. This team’s core is intact. The rotation is about to get significantly deeper. The offense has the talent to snap out of it — we’ve seen this group produce at an elite level for long stretches this year. Losing streaks happen to every team, even the best ones. The 2026 Dodgers aren’t built to stay down for long, and the next week or two should tell us whether this was a rough patch or the start of something more concerning. Right now, I lean toward rough patch. But they need to start winning again soon to keep that from shifting.

Source(s): Fabian Ardaya (The New York Times) | First reported: August 6, 2026 5:30 PM UTC

God Bless and Go Dodgers