As baseball fans know, with the promise of a new day, there is always another baseball game with a clean slate.

Yet, despite knowing that a fresh start awaits, the team and fans are remarkably frustrated with the Dodgers’ recent record.

Friday night was a battle between the National League West second-place Los Angeles Dodgers and the fourth-place Colorado Rockies. What should have been a lock against a team that is 18 games back from first-place was pretty much a fight till the very end. That “very end” being extra innings, where Colorado managed to win 6-9 in the tenth inning.

The Dodgers had the game in hand in the bottom of the ninth. The Rockies were ahead 6-5 when third baseman Justin Turner came up to bat with the bases loaded. The entire stadium was on its feet cheering while he ran the count full. He drew a walk on a wild pitch, bringing the tying run home.

“I was pretty certain we were going to win a ballgame,” Dodgers manager Dave Roberts would later say during his postgame press conference.

The stadium went wild with the game now reset at 6-6 and the bases still loaded with no outs. The casual observer would think the game was about to end, as did most of the 43,730 fans in attendance.

…that is until the next three batters all struck out swinging, ruining any promise of an efficient win. Colorado would go on to score three runs in the top of the tenth inning. Unfortunately, the Dodgers were unable to answer with runs of their own. They went quietly at the bottom of the inning to end the game.

The Boys in Blue are now 1-for-10 in extra-inning games this season, prompting Turner to candidly reply when asked why the team has struggled in this area.

“I have no idea. If you guys have anything, let me know, but it’s just pretty weird,” Turner answered. “I think one in ten this year in extra innings. That’s obviously not good.”

As frustrations continue to mount, many are pointing out the lack of cohesion within the team. This comes as no shock, considering that the Dodgers have had a revolving door of injuries making it challenging to catch their stride.

Friday night’s game claimed – or reclaimed – its most recent victim when Dodger’s center fielder Cody Bellinger had to leave the game in the bottom of the 8th inning with hamstring tightness following his sixth-inning triple. He returned to action less than a week ago for the same ailment. Right-hander Joe Kelly was also down due to some “soreness.” Both players are expected to be available for Sunday’s game but are still considered day-to-day.

Outfielder Mookie Betts is still listed as day-to-day with hip soreness, future Hall of Famer Clayton Kershaw has been out with forearm inflammation but making progress towards his return, and All-Star shortstop Corey Seager is due back any day now after being hit by a pitch in May.

It is easy to get caught up in the series of defeats, especially when Los Angeles has suffered three losses in a row this week. Spectators tend to take it personally when they know what their team is capable of accomplishing. That is the price you pay for having one of the largest fan bases in Major League Baseball.

At the end of the day, this is still a high-caliber team. The Dodgers are the reigning World Series champs, after all.

With the season now half over, if anyone can figure it out, hopefully, they can. And fortunately for the Boys in Blue and their fans, tomorrow is a new day.

Let’s go Dodgers!

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