Dodgers fighting too many uphill battles

We've talked a lot about how the Dodgers went from the best-hitting team in baseball through the end of June to a very ordinary team since July 1 , just 24-23 over the last two months. In the last two weeks the Dodgers have lost five of six games to the other division leaders in the National League, scoring only 10 runs in four games against the Milwaukee Brewers and eight runs in the first two games in Atlanta.

The five runs the Dodgers scored on Wednesday represented their most in five games against the Braves this season.

In the first two games against the Braves, the Dodgers trailed in 35 of their 84 plate appearances (41.7 percent). But they only batted six times when leading, once in the third inning and five times in the fourth inning, and they stranded runners on second and third base.