Overview
- Tarik Skubal, acquired at the trade deadline, made his first start for the Dodgers Tuesday, pitching six innings with six strikeouts, allowing two earned runs and taking a 5-1 loss at Wrigley Field.
- The defeat extended Los Angeles’s losing streak to five games, their longest of the season, even though the club still holds a large lead in the NL West.
- Reports and analysis cite a slumping offense and late‑inning bullpen failures as the main causes of the skid, with Dodgers hitters producing far fewer runs since July and relievers surrendering critical runs in the seventh inning or later.
- Manager Dave Roberts revealed after the game that catcher Dalton Rushing likely has a slight UCL tear that may end his regular‑season catching, adding to rotation and depth concerns for the team.
- The Skubal trade was intended to shore up starting pitching but the immediate result shows the move does not erase short‑term issues; the team’s next steps to monitor are Skubal’s health, bullpen steadiness and whether the offense regains consistency down the stretch.