San Francisco Giants: 3 reasons fans shouldn’t lose hope on a playoff bid

Aug 7, 2015; Pittsburgh, PA, USA; Los Angeles Dodgers starting pitcher Clayton Kershaw (22) wipes his brow after loading the bases against the Pittsburgh Pirates during the fourth inning at PNC Park. Mandatory Credit: Charles LeClaire-USA TODAY Sports

The Dodgers are falling apart 

Or, at the very least, they’ve fallen on harder times than the Giants.

Sunday’s walk-off loss to the Astros marked the Dodgers’ fifth-straight loss—their longest losing streak of the season, and a stretch in which they were no hit and plated less than two runs per game.

After the game, Clayton Kershaw even said that he hoped his team was “panicking a little bit.”

As the L.A. Times’ Houston Mitchell pointed out, the Dodgers have been playing passionless baseball, fairing worse than the Giants—and most all playoff contenders—in close contests (16-21 in games decided by one run) and games against top competition (14-29 against fellow contenders).

Over on KNBR, Duane Kuiper argued that the Dodgers are “too talented to stay in the toilet forever,” and while he has a point, it certainly looks like another late-season letdown is brewing in Los Angeles.

Next: On to reason No. 3