LOS ANGELES — The tip of the cap was more than proverbial, it was an honest-to-goodness pinch of the bill between fingers, then raised high toward the sky, complete with a grin.
Dave Roberts is not above expressing emotion, but generally keeps his excitement in check, especially in the first inning of a game in August.
And yet on Saturday night, he saluted Michael Conforto from the dugout railing following a two-run single that opened the door toward a 6-0 victory on Saturday. It was the Dodgers’ only hit over the first three innings, and yet they still scored five runs in the span.
Conforto revealed a recent heart-to-heart conversation with Roberts about moving away from the search to amass season statistics, which showed a .193 batting average and a .633 OPS heading into play Sunday. His nine home runs and 27 RBIs will come nowhere near matching his 20 and 66 marks from last season with the San Francisco Giants.
“A lot of long conversations,” Conforto said of recent talks with his manager. “I think the gist of it was just getting some more out of me, which is fair. I expect more out of myself. We talked through a lot of things, but that’s the main thing. Just to fight for every inch in those situations.
“A lot of times, there’ll be bases loaded situations that fall to that seven hole and great teams — playoff teams — they come through and score in those spots.”
They did Saturday, which led to Roberts’ salute from the dugout.
“The hat tip was just reassuring that I was just really proud of the way he’s still fighting,” Roberts said. “And when you’re hitting in that part of the order, that’s what we need.”
Even with three hits in the first two games of the series against the Padres, Conforto’s offensive issues are far from behind him. The Dodgers still are looking for somebody from the bottom of the order to move along the line, something that was practically nonexistent during a recent four-game losing streak.
It is why Roberts is asking for more contact from Conforto and less slug, even if the overall season numbers remain unsightly for somebody known as a power hitter. And perhaps that contact ends up turning back into power.
With six weeks remaining in the regular season, the Dodgers are trying to get as many run producers in a flow as possible.
“I would say it’s actually freeing in the sense of, you’re not expecting to put up a certain OPS or this or that. You’re just trying to help the team win,” Roberts said of talks with Conforto to emphasize contact. “My ask is to just be a better hitter, to fight, and to put together at-bats.
“That’s pretty much in any player’s control, versus trying to hit a certain number of homers, ribbies, this or that. I was hoping to free him up a little bit. It’s good to see it.”
Mr. 2,000
Buddy Kennedy made his Dodgers debut Sunday and in the process, he became the 2,000th player to appear in a game for the club since 1884 when it was in Brooklyn and a member of the American Association.
Kennedy, who was claimed off waivers from the Toronto Blue Jays on Friday when Max Muncy went on the injured list, started at third base Sunday and batted ninth. He flew out to left field in his first Dodgers at-bat in the second inning.
In parts of four seasons with four different clubs, Kennedy entered Sunday’s game as a career .193 hitter with two home runs and 19 RBIs over 60 games.
TO THE MAX
While there remains no exact timetable for Max Muncy’s return from an oblique strain, Roberts said his third baseman is “in a good spot.”
Muncy had four home runs in eight games before going on the injured list with a bone bruise in his knee in early July. He hit another four home runs in eight games of his return before going back on the IL on Friday with his side injury.
“I think Monday is a day where he’s going to start doing some plyo balls, some rotation, and that’s something that with his past with the oblique that’s a good marker for him and seeing how he responds to that,” Roberts said.
ON THE MEND
Utility man Kiké Hernandez is set to go on a minor league rehab assignment to Triple-A Oklahoma City this week as he nears the end of his recovery from left elbow inflammation.
Fellow utility man Hyeseong Kim is a bit behind Hernandez’s recovery timetable with left shoulder bursitis. He is nearing a minor league rehab assignment as well and could be back on the major league roster before the end of August.
A third utility man, Tommy Edman, is even further behind as he recovers from a right ankle sprain but could be back by early September, Roberts said
Left-hander Tanner Scott (elbow) and right-hander Kirby Yates (lower body) will start rehab assignment at Oklahoma City on Tuesday. Right-hander MIchael Kopech (knee) started a rehab assignment last week.
UP NEXT
Dodgers (RHP Yoshinobu Yamamoto, 10-8, 2.84 ERA) at Colorado (LHP Kyle Freeland, 3-12, 5.18 ERA), Monday, 5:40 p.m. PT, SportsNet LA, 570-AM