How are the Dodgers doing heading into series vs. D-backs? Not great

The Arizona Diamondbacks are down two starting pitchers, haven’t seen the best out of star Paul Goldschmidt and are without two heart-of-the-order bats.

Yet they’re division leaders, winners of nine straight series to start 2018 and showing few signs of scuffling soon. At the very least, the D-backs have bought themselves a buffer to survive a down stretch. They can weather a storm if and when it comes.

Their next opponent, the Los Angeles Dodgers? Not so much.

A four-game series between the National League West rivals begins Monday night at Chase Field, and the Dodgers enter not only with problems but without much room for error.

They’re behind in the standings

Arizona (19-8) leads the National League and has a seven-game lead on 12-15 Los Angeles, which is closer to the NL’s bottom-dwelling Cincinnati Reds (7-21).

MLB Network’s Jon Morosi lent caution that no team that entered May 2017 with a losing record made the postseason a season ago.

The Dodgers’ FOX Sports play-by-play man, Joe Davis, added optimism by pointing out that the Los Angeles had gotten out to 11-12 starts five times in team history and made the playoffs each time. But that came before the Dodgers dropped a four-game series against the San Francisco Giants, 3-1, heading into the series against the Diamondbacks.

If they lose to Arizona on Monday, the Dodgers will trail the D-backs by eight games, a significant figure.

Los Angeles has never entered May seven or more games out of first in the divisional era that began in 1969.

They just lost Corey Seager for the year

Infielder Corey Seager wasn’t putting together All-Star worthy numbers by slashing .267/.348/.396, but the Dodgers found out about the major blow to their lineup Monday when an lingering injury turned out to require Tommy John surgery.

Chris Taylor, who has two of his four homers against Arizona this year, isn’t a bad replacement option. Nonetheless, the depth across the roster is wearing thin for a team that appears to be just mediocre at this point in the year.

Losing a two-time All-Star and one of the young pieces to the Dodgers’ future for the long run doesn’t help anything.

They don’t have their planned starter for Monday

The Dodgers begin the series in Arizona starting right-hander Ross Stripling, who entered with a 0.63 ERA and 1.26 WHIP.

Problem is, Stripling is a reliever who has only twice gone more than 1.2 innings this season. Brock Stewart, a starter who was recalled from Triple-A on Sunday, could eat up most of the innings against the D-backs on Monday.

He’s taking the place of starter Rich Hill, who hasn’t pitched since April 14 due to a finger injury. That injury, a split nail on his middle finger, got infected and Hill was announced as a scratch on Sunday.

Hill joins fellow starting pitcher Julio Urias on the disabled list.

They just benched their young star

It’s bad. How bad?

When manager Dave Roberts benched the team’s best bat by average and total hits, it’s probably a sign of not good things.

Cody Bellinger, who is hitting .291 with 30 hits on the year, took a low whack at a pitch on Sunday against the Giants and off a belt to right-center only made it to second base standing up.

“There’s certain expectations in the way we have to play the game,” Roberts said, per the Los Angeles Times. “When you don’t abide by that, then we’ll get somebody in there who will.”

Bellinger, who prepped at Hamilton High School in Chandler, Ariz., claimed he was playing smart and not forcing what he thought would’ve led to an out as the Dodgers trailed.

They don’t have help from Puig

Outfielder Yasiel Puig crashed into a wall Saturday and then fouled a ball off his foot and was placed on the 10-day disabled list with a hip pointer and bruised foot on Sunday, the latter of which appears to be the bigger concern.

He’d not been much of an impact player for his struggling squad anyway — at least not offensively. Puig is batting .193 this season with more strikeouts (19) than hits (17) over 88 at-bats.

On the disabled list, Puig joins third baseman Justin Turner, third baseman Logan Forsythe and reliever Yimi Garcia, the latter of whom is still working back from Tommy John surgery recovery.

The bullpen is struggling

Los Angeles’ bullpen’s ERA of 4.61 ranks 21st in MLB.

It lost veteran addition and former starter Tom Koehler to a shoulder injury before the year, and closer Kenley Jansen has two blown saves in just five opportunities. The Los Angeles Times’ Andy McCullough explains the rest of the problems:

J.T. Chargois has intrigued team officials but has yet to earn the trust of Roberts. Daniel Hudson surrendered five runs in his first three appearances. Scott Alexander walked more batters than he struck out during an unsteady 11-game stint; the team demoted him to triple-A Oklahoma City on Saturday.

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