Welcome to second place: Tumbling Dodgers are swept by the Angels

The result was historic. The way it happened was all too familiar.

Never before, since interleague play began in 1997, had the Dodgers been swept in a six-game season series by the Angels.

Plenty of times in recent weeks, however, they’ve suffered the kind of fate that clinched that distinction Wednesday.

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Entering the eighth inning at Angel Stadium, the Dodgers were leading by only one run, having once again failed to stretch a narrow lead. And without many trustworthy options in a recently scuffling bullpen, manager Dave Roberts had few cards to play from his deck.

First, he sent left-hander Justin Wrobleski out for a third inning of work. When he walked the first two batters, Roberts then turned to right-hander Edgardo Henriquez, who had pitched multiple innings the night before.

If you’ve been watching the Dodgers over the last couple of weeks, you can probably guess what happened next.

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Some bad luck: A potential inning-ending double-play grounder that took a deflection off Henriquez’s glove.

Bad execution: Henriquez throwing a center-cut fastball to Logan O’Hoppe that, even at 103.2 mph, was smoked into center.

And, in a scene that has repeated itself time and again during the Dodgers’ recent skid, plenty of hanging, defeated heads.

In a 6-5 loss that was decided on O’Hoppe’s go-ahead two-run single, the Dodgers not only suffered a second series sweep to the Angels this year — but also, for the first time since April 27, fell out of first place in the National League West.

“It just seems like right now,” Roberts said, “that’s the way things are going.”

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From nine games up in the division on July 3, to one game back of the San Diego Padres ahead of their visit to Dodger Stadium this weekend.

“We’re where we’re at. We put ourselves in this spot,” Roberts said. “But no, I wouldn’t have expected us to be in second place right now.”

Indeed, countless unforeseen trip wires have contributed to the Dodgers’ sudden tumble in the standings.

For most of July, they had the worst offense in the majors. Up until recently, their starting rotation was beset by injuries.

In the last week and a half, however, there’s been a common script almost too easy to predict.

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The Dodgers take an early lead, but miss opportunities to extend it. Then they turn things over to their bullpen, and watch their patchwork relief corps inevitably begin to melt.

It happened twice last week against the St. Louis Cardinals, and once more last Sunday against the Toronto Blue Jays. On Tuesday, it negated a go-ahead home run from Shohei Ohtani in the ninth inning. And on Wednesday, it wasted the lead he had left the mound with after his longest, but hardly most impressive, pitching start of the year.

Now, for the first time since 2021, the Dodgers have ground to make up with less than two months to go in the year.

“It is what it is,” shortstop Mookie Betts said. “Can’t change it right now.”

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The good news: They can change it on Friday, when the Padres come to town for the first of two critical series between the teams over the next 10 days.

The bad news: The Dodgers are entering that pivotal stretch with four-straight losses, and a 12-21 record since July 4. The Padres, meanwhile, have won five straight games and are 23-12 over that same extended span.

For a while on Wednesday, the Dodgers (68-53) once again clung to false hope.

They scored three times in the first inning, after Ohtani led off with a triple, Betts singled him home to extend his hitting streak to eight games, and Will Smith lifted a two-run home run down the line in left.

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They maintained that lead for much the rest of the night, overcoming a choppy four-run, 4 ⅔ inning start from Ohtani (who pitched into the fifth inning for the first time since returning from his second career Tommy John surgery, and did strike out Mike Trout both times he faced him) by tacking on two more runs in a fourth-inning rally.

By not extending their 5-4 lead, however, the Dodgers left themselves susceptible late.

“At the end of the day, we’re just not finishing the games where we have an opportunity,” Roberts said.

“It’s not like we’re going out there just laying eggs,” Betts added. “Just falling short right now.”

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The night could have been different if Andy Pages hadn’t been robbed of a two-run homer by Angels center fielder Bryce Teodosio in the seventh inning. Or if the lineup hadn’t finished the game without a hit in their final 16 at-bats (they managed only two walks after the fifth, when they left the bases loaded on Teoscar Hernández’s inning-ending strikeout).

Instead, the game came down to the eighth, when Wrobleski lost his command after two scoreless innings earlier and left a mess for Henriquez — the best of a bunch bad bullpen options on a night Blake Treinen and Ben Casparius, hardly stalwarts themselves over the last couple weeks, were unavailable after heavy recent usage.

Henriquez’s first batter, Christian Moore, attempted a sacrifice bunt that the Dodgers perfectly defended. Freddie Freeman crashed from first base, and got the lead runner out at third.

Up next came Jo Adell, who hit a chopper up the middle. Off the bat, it seemed destined to be turned for a double play by second baseman Miguel Rojas.

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Before it got there, however, Henriquez tried to reach for the ball. It deflected off his glove, then rolled helplessly to the hole Rojas had just vacated. Everyone reached safely. The bases were suddenly loaded with one out.

“That’s baseball,” Roberts said. “That’s part of it.”

Henriquez, the hard-throwing prospect who has looked promising in his return to the majors this year, struck out Luis Rengifo after that to move to the verge of an much-needed escape.

But in a 2-and-2 count against O’Hoppe, he threw a poorly located fastball that the Angels catcher was timed up for. A line drive went screaming into center. The tying and go-ahead runs came racing across the plate.

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“He was dead red and he just timed it up,” Roberts said. “Didn’t want to pitch Edgardo either, with the up-down yesterday. But it’s kind of where we’re at right there.”

Now, the Dodgers find themselves in a place they never would have expected even just a month ago. Still mired in an extended slump. Facing a deficit in a division they’ve led almost all season. And searching for answers ahead of what could be a defining stretch in the schedule.

“Obviously, it doesn’t feel good to fall into second place and to lose a lot of these games,” Ohtani said through interpreter Will Ireton. “We’re doing everything in our power, having close meetings, doing everything that we can to try to right the ship. We just have to do a better job.”

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This story originally appeared in Los Angeles Times.