The Los Angeles Dodgers are probably never going to be fully healthy, but their roster still looks quite intimidating at the moment. Shohei Ohtani is pitching again, Blake Snell is off the injured list and Mookie Betts is heating up. This ballclub has survived a myriad of absences, as usual, and stayed in first place. When one weathers the storm, they are supposed to emerge with renewed strength and confidence. But sometimes, enduring a torrential downpour can have a lasting effect.

The reigning World Series champions are lumbering through the second half of the 2025 campaign, posting an 11-12 record since the All-Star break. They are particularly scuffling in one-run games, losing one heartbreaker after another. Their latest one, a 7-6 walk-off loss to the Los Angeles Angels, erased their once solid advantage in the National League West. The San Diego Padres clinched their fifth straight series with a 5-1 win versus the San Francisco Giants to pull even with their arch rival.

A shaky bullpen, which is currently missing closer Tanner Scott and several other key relief pitchers, continues to hamper the Dodgers. Though, the problems extend throughout the team. When push comes to shove, LA is simply not coming through. The clutch gene is dormant, an issue that requires urgent fixing. Meanwhile, San Diego has assembled a roster specifically designed to win close games, and it is paying off in a huge way.

Dodgers first baseman Freddie Freeman does not wish to dwell on the Friars, however. He wants the squad to only look within itself during this challenging time.

Dodgers have to get mentally tough down the stretch

“(Division) won’t be tied if we don’t win games,” the 2024 World Series MVP bluntly said, per the Orange County Register’s Bill Plunkett. “So that’s kind of our main focus right now. If we worry about outside things –– we gotta worry about inside things right now.”

Freeman knows that if Los Angeles is going to outlast its in-state foe and re-establish itself as a juggernaut, it will need to gut out some of these tight matchups. Shohei Ohtani boosted the Dodgers on top of the Angeles with his National League-leading 43rd home run of the year in the ninth inning, but they coughed up the lead in the next frame and did not score in the 10th. Those are the games the Boys in Blue must secure.

“I think you can sense the frustration,” Freeman said. “You want to win the close games, because if you win the close games, that’s how you build. And then you’ll score nine, 10 runs. And then you’ll start putting some things together.”

The good news is the 2020 MVP and nine-time All-Star seems dialed-in at the dish. He was slashing .361/.419/.667/.1.085 in August going into Tuesday’s showdown in Anaheim. Ohtani, Freeman and Betts form a Hall of Fame trio that should possess the ability to cure the Dodgers’ woes, or at least mitigate them. Though, this is not only about what LA is doing wrong. San Diego is presently doing everything right.

The division’s top two teams are moving in different directions

The Dodgers largely stood pat at the trade deadline, trusting their returning players to qualify as notable acquisitions. Conversely, the Padres went all in at the end of July, shipping out a haul of prospects to acquire Mason Miller, Ryan O’Hearn, Ramon Laureano and Freddy Fermin, among others. The California squads’ current trajectories coincide with their respective deadline approaches.

Los Angeles (68-52) has plenty of time to spark a turnaround, though. Look at it this way: the Dodgers have been without multiple high-end difference-makers for extended stretches and have played subpar baseball for much of the last five weeks, and yet, they hold a share of the divisional lead. If and when this group clicks everything into place, it will probably be the favorite to win another championship. In fact, it still is now.

Clearly, however, LA is not going to just tread water en route to another NL West title. Dave Roberts’ crew will need to rediscover its identity before the playoffs begin. Actually, now would be a better time. The Dodgers and Padres will fittingly clash in a three-game series in Chavez Ravine, starting on Friday.