The Los Angeles Dodgers have persisted as the odds-on favorites to win the World Series after winning it all a year ago.

But after holding onto the lead in the National League West division all season, a recent rough stretch and an extra-innings loss to the Los Angeles Angels on Tuesday has pushed them to a new low.

“Once again, they let a winnable game go meekly by the wayside,” Jack Harris wrote for the Los Angeles Times. “A 7-6 loss for the Dodgers, that sent their spiraling season to a new dismal low.”

The Dodgers are now tied with the rival San Diego Padres for first place in the division, suddenly putting their hopes of securing home-field advantage for the playoffs in jeopardy. The Dodgers are also in particular need of a first-round bye as their beleaguered pitching staff could use all the rest it can get.

After the loss knocked the Dodgers from sole possession of first place, superstar first baseman Freddie Freeman spoke out about the tie with the Padres.

“(The division) won’t be tied if we don’t win games,” Freeman said, per Bill Plunkett of The Orange County Register. “So that’s kind of our main worry right now. If we worry about outside things — we gotta worry about inside things right now.”

As Freeman emphasized the importance of ignoring external factors like how the Padres are performing, he added that he can “sense the frustration” on a Dodgers team that has lost a lot of close games, including eight of their past 11 one-run decisions, according to Plunkett.

With the division race heating up and the playoffs approaching, it’s easy to imagine the Dodgers and Padres finding themselves in some close games with incredibly high stakes in the near future.

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