June gloom: Dodgers’ frustration level on the rise

Like most everyone else in baseball, the Dodgers think a lot of themselves. They expect to win and win a lot.

And when it doesn’t happen, or happen as often as they expect, they can get highly frustrated. It’s the middle of June, the halfway mark to the season still a long ways off, but right now the 37-29 Dodgers are irritated they are not winning more.

Ace Clayton Kershaw was particularly so after he and the Dodgers lost 5-3 to the Rangers on Wednesday night.

“This was probably the most frustrating game I ever pitched,” Kershaw said.

Kershaw went six innings, striking out 10 and needing 107 pitches, allowing four runs (three earned) on five mostly well-placed hits. Joey Gallo’s home run, however, was well placed into the upper half of the left-field pavilion.

Manager Don Mattingly said Kershaw’s frustration Wednesday was apparent, and representative of the team.

“I really think for me, his frustration is kind of a picture of our club right now,” Mattingly said.

Kershaw did not dispute Mattingly’s claim.

“I think so, we’re sick of losing,” Kershaw said. “We were on a little bit of a run there, then losing these three in a row, all close games but not being able to come out at the end. You have to give the Rangers credit, they’re playing well right now, but we feel like they were games we could or should have won.”

On Wednesday, the Rangers picked up a couple of hits that went just beyond the reach of Enrique Hernandez, filling in for the night at shortstop for Jimmy Rollins, who probably makes the plays. They picked up a couple in center that Chris Heisey could not reach, that just possibly Joc Pederson might have had a shot at. In the fourth inning, catcher A.J. Ellis let a strike three get away from him that allowed Adam Rosales to reach base. Rosales ultimately scored.

“I’m not taking anything away from the Rangers and the way they’ve played this series, but we haven’t played Dodger baseball at all,” Ellis said.

“It was a guy frustrated out there with some things that were going on. He made a lot of pitches. You have to make a lot of pitches to strike out that many guys in that few of innings. It was a grind for him. There was a lot of traffic out on the bases, some of it due to us not helping him defensively. Me letting that guy get on first base. I have to make that play.”

And what exactly is Dodger baseball these days?

“Dodger baseball for us is getting a good start, playing from out in front,” Ellis said. “We haven’t done that a lot lately. We’ve been playing from behind a lot. For us it’s getting a lead, having our starting pitchers go deep in the game and finding a way to get the ball to Kenley [Jansen]. We’re not doing a very good job of that right now.

“There’s been a lot of games in a row, you look out there and most of our bullpen has been used and we have one of the best closers in baseball who hasn’t trotted in from the bullpen yet.”

And right now, Dodger baseball is filled with frustration.