Column: Dave Roberts is ‘not too concerned’ about Dodgers’ offensive struggles. Should he be?
The Dodgers managed to get one hit in six innings against the Padres on Thursday — a single by pitcher Walker Buehler — and they were held scoreless for 5 2/3 innings by left-hander Ryan Weathers — who is rapidly becoming a formidable foe —but Dodgers manager Dave Roberts chose to look at the later, more productive at-bats his players put together in their 3-2 loss to San Diego at Dodger Stadium.
“On the offensive side, I’m not too concerned,” Roberts said.
In their last three games the Dodgers batted .143 (13 for 91). They’ve struck out 26 times, they’ve gone three for 31 with runners in scoring position, and they’ve left 26 runners on base. They’ve lost three of their last four games. Over their last five games, against the Padres and the Seattle Mariners, the Dodgers are batting .126 (19 for 151) and have struck out 53 times.
Still not worried, Dave?
“We’ve got a lot of good offensive players who have track records to back it up, so again, I think we’ll be fine,” Roberts said during his postgame webinar. “There’s always parts of a season where there’s a lull offensively. That happens. Those pitchers are pretty good too, but, yeah, I’m OK with our offense.”
For Saturday’s game against the Padres, the Dodgers are opening what they’re calling a ‘fully vaccinated fan section,’ where social distancing won’t be required.
To be fair, the Dodgers are still a major league-leading 14-5 with a .737 winning percentage even though injuries have removed a considerable amount of punch from their lineup. They’re making use of their depth and versatility, but even that’s being stretched.
Cody Bellinger (fractured left leg) said Thursday he’s feeling better but isn’t sure when he will return; Gavin Lux (sore wrist) also remains out. Mookie Betts missed a few games early this month because of a sore back and missed the finale at Seattle on Tuesday after being hit in the forearm by a pitch. And just before Thursday’s game Chris Taylor and Zach McKinstry were scratched, both because of lower-back tightness and stiffness. Roberts said they’d both be re-evaluated on Friday, before the second game of the team’s four-game series against the fired-up Padres.
But it’s also fair to wonder whether the Dodgers will break out of this slump anytime soon. While the Padres are still in town would be a good time to do it.
The teams are 2-2 this season, in the early stages of their 19-game season series. The Padres (11-10) might be struggling against everyone else, but they clearly enjoy the challenge of facing the World Series champion Dodgers and they get up for each game. “We’re both talented teams that know how to play good baseball,” Buehler said, “and you gotta assume there’s going to be a few nail-biters in there.”
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The Dodgers couldn’t dent the Padres’ pitching until the seventh inning, when AJ Pollock and Sheldon Neuse hit back-to-back home runs off Emilio Pagan. It was the first hit as a Dodger and first major league home run for Neuse, who wasn’t in Roberts’ original lineup and was added at second base only after Taylor was scratched.
The Dodgers had acquired him from Oakland in February with pitcher Gus Varland for pitcher Adam Kolarek and infielder Cody Thomas. He had 56 at-bats for the A’s in 2019 but spent the pandemic-abbreviated 2020 season at their alternate training site. The Dodgers recalled him on Sunday.
The Texas native’s name is pronounced “Noisy,” as in what the sound volume was at Dodger Stadium after his home run to left field tied the game at 2-2.
“Guys just step up,” Roberts said. “Injuries, guys down, all of this stuff, guys have got to step up, and tonight, Sheldon had an opportunity.”
Roberts also praised two defensive plays by Neuse in the eighth inning, one as the middle link in turning a double play on a grounder hit by Fernando Tatis Jr., and the other on Manny Machado’s sharply hit grounder. “He played really sound baseball tonight, Sheldon did,” Roberts said.
Neuse, batting with the bases loaded in the eighth, also hit the grounder that second baseman Jake Cronenworth corralled and turned into a spectacular double play. “They had to make a great play, turn a big double play, to hold us off,” Roberts said. “We took good at-bats the second part of the game and had a chance to win. A good chance to win.”
The Dodgers might have taken two of three games in their series with the Padres, but it’s clear they can ill afford to take San Diego lightly.
Neuse surely did his part. During spring training, he said he was eager to accept suggestions from the Dodgers on how to unlock the potential they saw in him at the plate, potential he didn’t get a chance to fully explore with the A’s.
“I was kind of sad to leave those guys over there. I made my debut with Oakland and left a lot of good friends, but extremely excited to come over and work with these guys,” Neuse said. “I’ve heard nothing but good things. And with the group they have here, I hope that I can come in and fill in a good role and help this club win another championship this year. Very excited to be here.”
In a healthy, sharp lineup he shouldn’t have to carry the load offensively. That he stepped up on Thursday was a bright spot in a lull the Dodgers should break out of soon and begin to make some noise.
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