Dodgers limp home after loss to Phillies

>> The Dodgers headed back to the comforts of home Sunday night. And they could use some comforting.

Taijuan Walker and four relievers held the Dodgers to five hits as the Philadelphia Phillies beat the Dodgers 7-3, handing them their sixth loss in their past eight games away from Los Angeles.

The Dodgers went 2-4 on this trip to Cincinnati and Philadelphia after going 4-6 on an 11day caravan through St. Louis, Atlanta and Tampa Bay on their previous trip. They have lost four of their past five road series and overall have a losing record away from home this season (17-19).

“I don’t have one. We’re just not winning,” Freddie Freeman said when asked for a diagnosis of the Dodgers’ road failures of late. “We’re not doing anything different on the road than at home other than we hit first. I don’t know.

Freeman is being diplomatic or just hasn’t looked for an explanation. It’s easy to see the pitching has been the Dodgers’ biggest pothole on the road. While the Dodgers’ ERA at Dodger Stadium (3.13) is the lowest home ERA in baseball, their ERA on the road is 5.70. Only the historically bad Oakland Athletics are worse — a homeroad disparity that the Dodgers’ front office is “digging into,” looking for explanations.

They Dodgers have averaged six runs per game on their last two road trips — 61 in 10 games then 36 in the six games this week — but have gone 6-10 thanks to their pitching staff’s struggles.

“I think if you kind of look at how it’s been on the road, I think it’s been on the run prevention side,” Dodgers manager Dave Roberts acknowledged. “I think consistently at home, on the road, we’re putting up runs, giving ourselves a chance to win. But kind of overarching, whether it’s starter, reliever, I think it’s on the run prevention side. That’s something that we’re trying to figure it out and hopefully come up with some answers.