Alexander: For Dodgers, threat in rear-view mirror is getting closer

SAN DIEGO — Is it too soon to say the Dodgers just might be in trouble?

Too soon to reassess the results of Tuesday’s trade deadline, even though Jack Flaherty has yet to throw a pitch in a Dodgers uniform and reliever Michael Kopech struck out the side in his L.A. debut on Wednesday?

Too soon to think that, by parting with the necessary minor league assets to turn what was already a pretty good bullpen into a monster, San Diego general manager A.J. Preller actually won the deadline – and the Padres not only have taken dead aim on the perennial NL West leaders but, by the results this week, might actually have the wherewithal to run them down?

Yeah, I know. Two games at the end of July are scarcely an indicator of what is to come. And yes, the Dodgers have had one hand tied behind their backs, metaphorically speaking, for much of the summer. The man-games missed count, referenced in the column that went online Tuesday evening, now stands at 859 through Wednesday. (But good news for the Dodgers: Max Muncy feels well enough to maybe start swinging a bat in the next couple of days.)

That post-deadline column was written and filed before this disaster of a series in Petco Park began. Hopefully, San Diego’s workforce woke up Thursday morning relatively sober and not too hoarse from chanting, “Beat L.A.” It was that bad a beatdown.

The Dodgers had five runs and four hits in the first inning Tuesday night, one run and six hits in the next 18. The result: A 6-5 walk-off win for the Padres on Tuesday, an 8-1 rout for the home team on Wednesday, and a division lead that was nine games on June 20 is now 4½ over the Padres.

I’ve said it often and repeated it this week: Every fan base in baseball hates its bullpen at some point. This stretch has been Dodger fans’ turn.

The bullpen burped up another lead and game on Tuesday night, blowing a five-run lead for the third time in 2½ weeks. Blake Treinen accounted for two of those in a span of three games, giving up two solo homers in the ninth Tuesday to tie after serving up the cookie with which Alex Bregman walked off Saturday’s game in Houston.

Then, on Wednesday, Clayton Kershaw – on whose shoulders so much seems to always rest for this team – followed a reasonably good debut last Thursday against the Giants with … well, let him tell it.

“Physically, I feel fine,” he said. “I just think … honestly, I felt pretty good with the last one overall, but this one, obviously … this was really bad. I didn’t think there was rust but, yeah, maybe. I don’t know. I just got to pitch better.”

Kershaw lasted 3⅔ innings and gave up six hits and seven runs. Four were earned, and while Gavin Lux committed two of the three errors that bedeviled him, Kershaw himself fumbled a Bryce Johnson squeeze bunt that allowed a run to score.

There was a lack of swing-and-miss compared to vintage Kershaw, and some of his lack of command might have to do with nine months away from a major league mound.

“The last one I thought was very good, and tonight just wasn’t great,” Manager Dave Roberts said. “I think he’ll be the first to say that, but it’s part of the process. I just don’t think that anyone can expect him to come back and, you know, be lights out every start out. Certainly after two starts.”

But leave it to Kershaw to put it in precise perspective: “There’s a lot you can overanalyze when you pitch bad. But for right now, I’m just going to say it was bad and try to pitch better the next one.”

And maybe July was a team-wide aberration, best left in the rear-view mirror. The Dodgers were 11-13 in the month, their first losing month since April of 2018. That spring, you might recall, they were without Justin Turner because of a broken hand suffered during spring training. They were 12-16 that April, eight games out of the division lead as the calendar turned to May … and they wound up in the World Series.

So when is it an overreaction and when is it a warning?

Or here’s another question: When would nine players on the injured list at one time be considered a cause and not an alibi? It certainly has to be part of the mix. Since Mookie Betts suffered a fracture in his left hand when he was hit by a pitch on June 16, the Dodgers are 19-17 – and in the immediate aftermath of his injury they went 7-2 against the Colorado Rockies, Chicago White Sox and Angels, so feel free to do the math.

Meanwhile, an injury-decimated starting rotation has led to an overworked bullpen, which has led to that familiar sense of dread when the gate opens. As usual, the pitchers fail and the manager gets the blame, but those who criticize Roberts’ bullpen usage have to keep in mind that he only has what the front office gives him. Andrew Friedman and Brandon Gomes had opportunities to upgrade the bullpen leading up to Tuesday’s deadline, but as always were reluctant to part with their very best prospects.

If you insist on winning every trade, odds are you won’t win very many of them.

Kopech and his 99-100 mph four-seamer should help. He entered the game in the fifth on Wednesday and blew away Jackson Merrill, Ha-Seong Kim and Luis Campusano on 17 pitches, all four-seamers and cutters, eight of them 99 or better.

But he can’t do it on his own. I asked Roberts before the game if, during the ramp-up to get Walker Buehler and Bobby Miller back to the big leagues, there were thoughts of maybe using them as bullpen pieces down the line.

“The honest answer is we just want to get these guys back to performing and having success, and then once we get to that point, then we can have a conversation,” he said. “… I still think we’re a ways away from that.”

Bottom line: Beginning Friday night in Oakland, there are 53 regular-season games left. The ambition remains the same as it was when the journey began, which actually would be when the front office spent all that money in December.

Friedman and Gomes were bold in December, and while you can’t say they were timid at the deadline they were, shall we say, measured. Now we’ll find out if they should have taken bigger risks. After all, as the saying goes, prospects are cool but parades are cooler.

“It’s a long, long year,” catcher Will Smith said. “You know there’s going to be injuries. Tough times. Good times, which we’ve (had) this year. That’s part of it. We’ll come out of it. No doubt about it.

“We’re the Dodgers, you know. We’re the best team in baseball.”

Prove it.

jalexander@scng.com