3 Dodgers starters to worry about limping into playoffs ice cold

The Los Angeles Dodgers are having the greatest regular season in franchise history, but none of it matters if the team cannot complete the job and win the World Series. Los Angeles is in a good spot to do so with home-field advantage through the World Series, even if the team is getting the short end of the stick with the new playoff structure.

While the Dodgers are the best team in the league, the most-talented team doesn’t always win the World Series — the hottest team does. If the most-talented team gets hot in October, that’s when something truly special can happen. That’s what the Dodgers are hoping for.

We have seen this team get ice cold in October — especially offensively — in years past, and there are already some concerning players that are starting that trend. We do not expect the likes of Cody Bellinger or Joey Gallo to be spectacular, but there are some Dodgers starters who are starting to worryingly limp into the postseason.

It simply can’t continue if the Dodgers want to avoid embarrassment.

Here are 3 Dodgers starters who are heading into the playoffs ice cold

3. Gavin Lux

Gavin Lux was a great story for the Dodgers all season as the former Minor League Player of the Year started to show why he was a highly-touted prospect in the first place. He became the most overqualified nine hitter in the sport and was getting on base to score for the top of the order at a fantastic clip.

Lux started to tail off as the year went along and then he suffered a neck injury that kept him out of action. Since coming back from that injury, Lux simply has not been the same and it’ll be a tough situation for Dave Roberts to handle in the playoffs.

Lux returned from a 16-day hiatus on Sept. 17 and has played in 11 games since. In 42 plate appearances through Sunday, he’s slashing .146/.167/.171 with 16 strikeouts. He’s walked only one time and has only one extra-base hit.

1. Mookie Betts

The Dodgers are such a scary team to play in the playoffs because of the top-three in their order that has made so many pitchers pay this season. There’s not a better trio in the sport than Mookie Betts, Trea Turner and Freddie Freeman, and the results have spoken for themselves.

Freeman continues to swing a hot bat, which is a positive sign, but the top two in the order have started to cool off. If the Dodgers are going to win the World Series, they are going to need production out of Betts and Turner, so hopefully this cold stretch is just the calm before the concern.

While Mookie has had some playoff heroics already with the Dodgers, him cooling off is a real worry because he’s been a very streaky hitter this season. When he’s cold, he’s really cold, but when he starts to heat up, he will slug home runs at an insane pace.

In Betts’ last 15 games, he’s hitting .246 with a .699 OPS. Like Turner, his on-base percentage is below .300, which is not what you want out of someone who is leading off the ball game. If Betts and Turner are ineffective, it doesn’t matter how hot Freeman is at the plate.

Betts’ overall playoff numbers were decent last year, but he played really poorly in the NLCS against the Atlanta Braves and was a big reason the Dodgers lost that series. In those six games, Mookie hit .174 with a .514 OPS. He had only one extra-base hit and one RBI. Can’t happen again.

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