(Reposted from August 26, 2025)
It’s been said in sports that teams cannot just flip-a-switch in order to improve their performance.
Well, the 2025 Dodgers appear to be an exception. The team has stepped up to play better team baseball after manager Dave Roberts‘ challenged them to play better team baseball.
Perhaps it was starting pitcher Yoshinobu Yamamoto shutting down the San Diego Padres offense in the Dodgers 8-2 win on Sunday, August 24. Or, was it rookie catcher Dalton Rushing’s three run home run in the seventh inning that slammed the switch open?
home run. (SportsNet LA)
The Dodgers next game was against the charging Cincinnati Reds and their flame throwing, right-handed pitcher Hunter Greene. No problem, the switch had been flipped.
Taking nothing away from starting pitcher Emmet Sheehan’s terrific, seven inning performance (no runs, 2 hits, 1 walk,10 strikeouts), but the Dodgers defense was a difference maker. Outfielders Michael Conforto, Teoscar Hernández, and Andy Pages made exceptional game changing plays. The type of defensive plays Dodgers fans have been longing for the entire season. And, Mookie Betts took his defensive game to a higher level, making plays like the great Hall of Fame shortstop – the Wizard of Oz (Ozzie Smith).
And, the offense that for weeks has been offensive to watch, stepped up their game with the maligned Conforto hitting two doubles and Pages belting two home runs.
Has the switch been flipped for the remainder of the 2025 season?
Dodgers fans can only hope.
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