SAN DIEGO – In the middle of last September, the Dodgers lost two games to open a series in Atlanta (part of a 3-6 slide) and Manager Dave Roberts sensed the team was feeling sorry for itself as injuries mounted.
So Roberts addressed the team, a rare occasion in season. That team meeting stands as a key scene in the Dodgers’ 2024 championship.
Deep in a seven-week malaise that has seen them blow a nine-game lead in the division with an offense, in particular, underperforming, Roberts said he hasn’t resorted to the same tactic.
“I’ve talked to some hitters,” Roberts said before Sunday’s win over the San Diego Padres. “But I just don’t feel that, when you’re talking specifically to hitting, it doesn’t involve the pitchers, and that’s half your team. So I’m not about wasting peoples’ time as they’re getting ready for a ballgame.”
Absolving the pitching staff of culpability in the Dodgers’ fall from the top is understandable. But the Dodgers have not been able to count on any consistent production from their offense. On the seven-game road trip to Colorado and San Diego this week, the Dodgers scored 28 runs in their three wins but just eight in their four losses.
“Baseball – hitting goes in cycles,” Roberts said. “We haven’t really been in sync. It’s been disjointed a lot, as far as the offense, for the entire part of the year. So playing well at the right time is crucial. And that speaks to the offense as well. But I do think we’re gonna get things together and pieced together.
“I’ve said it for a while, I think our best offensive baseball is still ahead of us. So it’s gonna happen.”
To make it happen, Roberts said he just wants them to get back to “competing and playing to win a ballgame and taking good at-bats. That will kind of lend itself to the performance.”
After Saturday’s loss, Roberts bemoaned the lack of adjustments being made by Dodger hitters who seemed unwilling to change their swing for the moment. But don’t tell Roberts his team needs to make drastic changes in their approach.
“I couldn’t disagree more, in the sense of what my belief is in this offensive team,” he said. “Certainly in the last two months, we haven’t performed close to expectations. I just feel we have the ability, the talent, as is it, to grind pitchers; to take some pressure off the starter, the ‘pen.
“So I want my cake and eat it as well.”
SHO FIVE
After hitting a solo home run in the ninth inning (his 45th of the season), Ohtani made a slight detour on his way to the dugout, going over to the seats by the screen and forcing a high-five on a Padres fan wearing a Fernando Tatis Jr. jersey. Ohtani pointed back at the fan as he trotted down the dugout steps.
The fan had been trash-talking the Dodgers all game, Ohtani in particular. Ohtani was hitless in 10 at-bats in the series before his home run, giving the plan plenty of fuel.
“Very annoying as he’s in my right ear the entire game,” Roberts said. “It was out of character from Shohei. He was wearing him out the whole game. So it was good to see Shohei initiate a high-five from him. That was great. That was fun. It was good for Shohei to show his personality.”
REHAB ROUNDUP
Hyeseong Kim and Kiké Hernandez continued their rehab assignments with Triple-A Oklahoma City over the weekend.
Kim went 1 for 5 as the DH on Saturday and 1 for 5 again while playing center field on Sunday. He is 4 for 16 in four games with OKC. Hernandez was 0 for 3 with a walk and played third base on Saturday, then went 1 for 2 with a double and a walk while playing left field on Sunday. He is 5 for 14 in five games and is on track to be activated from the Injured List during the series against the Cincinnati Reds, which begins Monday in Los Angeles.
Max Muncy has progressed well enough in his recovery from a mild oblique strain to face live pitching at some point early this week. He could go on a rehab assignment soon after that.
UP NEXT
Reds (RHP Hunter Greene, 5-3, 2.63 ERA) at Dodgers (RHP Emmet Sheehan, 4-2, 4.17), Monday, 7:10 p.m., SportsNet LA, MLB Network, 570 AM