Dodgers manager Dave Roberts makes feelings clear after team's 4-2 loss vs. Cubs

After starting the season with three straight series sweeps, the LA Dodgers have hit a roadblock with Sunday's 4-2 loss against the Chicago Cubs, marking the third straight series loss.

After losing the series opener, the Cubs took down the mighty Dodgers in a 16-0 blowout fashion, followed by another gritty performance. The Dodgers previously lost the series against the Philadelphia Phillies and the Washington Nationals.

Dodgers manager Dave Roberts highlighted the reason for the team's underwhelming performances over the last two weeks.

"Yeah, I think that we just haven't gotten synced up offensively. I think that's kind of—uh, you know, it's not from lack of preparation or work," Roberts told reporters (0:14 onwards).

"We just, you know—when you look at our club and you see a starter in the fifth inning with, uh, 65 pitches, something like that—that's kind of... you know, our DNA as an offense is that we do a really good job of beating the starter, getting the pitch count up, and getting to the pen. And I think for me, that kind of stands out. And it's going to happen—it just, in this last, you know, 9–10 game stretch, it just hasn’t."

Roberts was right to point out the Dodgers' offense was not in sync, as the star-studded batting lineup has only scored five runs in the three-game series vs the Cubs.

Dodgers MVP trio struggled vs Cubs

The top of the Dodgers' lineup is critical to their offense, which boasts former MVPs including Shohei Ohtani, Mookie Betts and Freddie Freeman.

Ohtani went hitless in five appearances in Sunday's game as he is only 1-for-12 in his last three games. Betts went 1-for-3 in Sunday's game and he, too, has struggled against the Cubs pitcher, going 2-for-10 in his last three games. Finally, Freeman, who is coming off a bad ankle injury, went hitless in his lone plate appearance on Sunday and has been 1-for-7 in the series.

If the Dodgers want to return to winning ways, they need this trio to start churning runs again. All three of them are more than capable of overcoming such slumps and Dave Roberts would expect nothing less.