CHICAGO -- During the first month of the season, the Dodgers’ bullpen was lights-out. The club had the best bullpen ERA in the Majors. At one point, it was on pace to become one of the best units in franchise history.

Over the last few weeks, however, the bullpen has become a rollercoaster ride. Injuries have played a part in that, with Blake Treinen and Tommy Kahnle, two of their most important pieces, sidelined for a significant amount of time. Craig Kimbrel has also been dealing with his struggles and was placed on paternity leave before Tuesday’s game.

The bullpen issues continued in a series-opening 4-0 loss to the White Sox, as David Price and Phil Bickford combined to allow four runs in the sixth inning at Guaranteed Rate Field. Los Angeles has now dropped six of its last eight. The bullpen has a 5.64 ERA during that span.

“We’re just not executing,” said Dodgers manager Dave Roberts. “I say it every night when we don’t prevent runs, but these guys are good hitters. And when you don’t make your pitches, they’re gonna make you pay. … I can look back at the tape and I’m certain there’s some walks in there, and we’re not executing pitches.”

That lack of execution haunted the Dodgers in the fateful sixth inning. With runners at the corners and two outs, Roberts decided to turn to Price against the lefty-hitting Gavin Sheets, rather than Bickford. Sheets, who has struggled at the plate this season, is much less efficient against left-handers.

But once the Dodgers brought in a left-handed pitcher, they knew the White Sox would immediately counter with former Dodgers outfielder AJ Pollock, who is having a down season but still came into Tuesday’s game with three homers and an .813 OPS against southpaws.

Roberts said they considered sticking with Bickford against Sheets, but ultimately preferred the matchup of Price against Pollock. Price, however, just didn’t execute, as the White Sox jumped all over him, plating all four runs in the frame.

“We were talking about it before the game and I just felt that AJ was a guy who hasn’t been swinging the bat well. We know him really well. We knew we could expand on him. And David’s a neutral [splits] guy,” Roberts said. “We didn’t execute a pitch, and that’s what happens. But certainly it could have gone the other way. I wish I could change the result.”

Over the last week, there’s been a handful of pitches the Dodgers would’ve liked to have back. Kimbrel blew his first save last week against the Pirates. Brusdar Graterol has been inefficient recently. Outside of Daniel Hudson, the Dodgers are looking for answers in the bullpen. And with Kahnle and Treinen sidelined, results like Tuesday’s could become more common unless some arms step up.

The bullpen, however, hasn’t been the only issue during this current run. Los Angeles’ star-studded lineup isn’t clicking on all cylinders, and was shut out for the second time in three weeks in Tuesday's contest in Chicago. Other than Mookie Betts, who continues to perform at an MVP-caliber level, the lineup is searching for answers during this mini-slump.

“Individually, some guys just aren’t swinging the bat well,” Roberts said. “I think Mookie is still certainly swinging the bat well. I think [Chris Taylor] and Gavin [Lux] are swinging the bat well. I think everyone else is sort of trying to find the way right now, and that’s a big chunk of the lineup that isn’t feeling good at the plate.”

Despite the lofty -- and maybe unrealistic -- expectations surrounding the Dodgers this season, a stretch like this was inevitable, even for a team with a handful of future Hall of Famers. Last season, the Dodgers lost 10 of 12 during a stretch in April and May and finished with 106 wins anyway.

“Just one of those stretches where we’re obviously not playing great,” said Dodgers third baseman Justin Turner, who picked up the 1,000th hit of his Dodgers career on Tuesday. “I think we go through this all the time in baseball. It’s not going to get easy for us, everyone is playing their best baseball against us. We just have to figure out a way to play better.”