Amid recent struggles from their star-studded offense, some of the Dodgers’ biggest names opted for levity on Saturday afternoon.
When Freddie Freeman and Shohei Ohtani bumped into each other in the Dodger Stadium parking lot upon arriving at the ballpark, the scuffling Freeman joked with the slumping Ohtani: “Can we please get some hits today?”
When Kyle Tucker, mired in his own early-season cold spell, popped his head in the training room before first pitch, he sarcastically went around the room asking, “Do you have hits? Do you have hits?”
For the first time in at least a little while, the answer to every such question was a resounding yes by the end of the evening.
In a 12-4 rout of the Chicago Cubs, the Dodgers found renewed life at the plate, racking up 14 hits, going 7-for-18 with runners in scoring position, mounting their biggest rally of the year in a six-run fourth inning, and putting the game away by scoring four more in the sixth.
“I think we made a statement,” catcher Dalton Rushing said. “Now we just gotta carry it over into tomorrow.”
To do that consistently, however, the Dodgers still need their best bats to heat up.
And even in the wake of Saturday’s outburst, questions are lingering around their biggest stars.
That’s not to say Saturday didn’t yield some improvements from the likes of Ohtani, Freeman and Tucker among others. All of them had a hit. Ohtani, who also drew two walks, reached base three times. And each made contributions to at least one of their big offensive innings.
On the whole, though, there is more to be desired from each amid somewhat sluggish opening-month performances. After all, at some point, they are the ones who will have to spearhead the offense long-term.
It starts with Ohtani, who showed more patience on Saturday but is still lacking for power of late.
Despite snapping a 0-for-12 skid with an opposite-field single in the first inning –– only his fourth hit the other way in a season he has fallen victim to too many pulled balls –– he finished the day just 1-for-3, leaving him batting .240 on the year and .130 in his last six games.
“It’ll balance itself out,” Roberts said pregame. “But yeah, he’s going through it right now.”
At the very least, Ohtani avoided a strikeout on Saturday, something he had done nine times previously this week. Yet, his last home run was now 56 plate appearances ago, his longest drought as a Dodger and the sixth-longest of his career.
“Obviously, we know the talent,” Roberts said. “So he certainly deserves more leash and more opportunity than essentially anyone.”
The same applies to Freeman, who started the campaign with a string of unlucky results but has settled into a more traditional slump lately.
Though he produced a key hit Saturday, smacking a trademark opposite-field line drive for an RBI single in the fourth, he didn’t reach safely again on the night, leaving him 4-for-19 in the last five games. His .280 batting average is still third-best among the team’s qualified hitters. But he’s in his own slugging drought this week, having gone five games without an extra-base hit.
Then there’s Tucker, who remains the most glaring issue in the Dodgers’ lineup.
Like Freeman, he contributed to Saturday’s win with a leadoff double in the sixth-inning rally. However, he also finished the day 1-for-5. And unlike Freeman, he doesn’t have strong overall numbers this year to fall back on, ranking last among the club’s regulars with both a .235 average and .682 OPS.
The two hits he collected in his first game as the team’s clean-up hitter earlier this week, it turns out, have not ignited a larger turnaround yet.
The good news: The Dodgers are still leading the majors as a team in most offensive categories. They have been buoyed by scorching starts from other impact performers like Max Muncy (who hit his ninth home run Saturday, and is leading the National League with a 1.027 OPS) and Andy Pages (who broke out of his own 3-for-25 slide with two hits and three RBIs in the win, bumping his average back up to an NL-best .337). And on any given night, they remain capable of all-around displays such as Saturday’s.
“A hallmark for our club is (creating) stress,” Roberts said. “Continuing to put pressure on the opposing pitchers.”
Still, until their biggest stars find top form –– including the injured Mookie Betts, who is a couple weeks away from returning from an oblique strain, and Teoscar Hernández, who had two knocks Saturday after a 13 at-bat hitless streak –– their offense might not consistently find that top gear.
On Saturday, that group at least got some hits again. But the search for more continues to drag on.
