Freddie Freeman talked about his struggles, Tyler Glasnow had a great bounce-back game Sunday, and another look at all those Dodgers strikeouts at the plate.
For his first two seasons as a member of the Dodgers, Freddie Freeman was one of the more consistent hitters in baseball, able to hit over .320 and be an extra base hit machine.
So far in 2024, that hasn’t been the case for the seven-time All Star.
After Sunday’s victory against the New York Mets, Freeman’s overall slashline is now .287/.406/.391 with a 129 wRC+, well shy of the 158 and 163 wRC+ marks he posted in his first two years with Los Angeles. He’s still collecting doubles with six so far, putting him within the top 35 in the league for that category, but has just one home run on the season, which came back during the home opener against St. Louis on Mar. 28.
Cary Osborne of Dodger Insider writes about Freeman’s struggles early on to begin the season, noting how the 2020 NL MVP is determined to right the wrongs he’s made at the plate.
“I will work hard, and I will try and to right the ship like I do every single day,” Freeman said on Friday night. “And I will continue to do that until it rights.”
Although the Dodgers dropped the weekend series against New York, Freeman started to find his groove again, as he went 4-6 with two doubles and five RBI while walking and scoring twice.
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After a six-run outing against the Washington Nationals on Monday, Tyler Glasnow bounced back against the Mets on Sunday, tossing eight shutout innings on 101 pitches where he struck out eight, allowed seven hits and zero walks.
Dave Roberts praised Glasnow for his effective pitch selection, while also praising the Dodgers’ defense after they allowed three errors in the first two games of the series, calling Sunday’s game a “complete baseball game,” per Mike DiGiovanna of the Los Angeles Times.
“You know what? That was the first complete baseball game I can recall,” manager Dave Roberts said. “We were clean defensively. I thought the at-bats throughout the game were really good, especially the guys at the bottom of the order. And then, obviously, what Tyler did.”
Bill Plunkett of the Orange County Register discusses the strikeout problem the Dodgers’ offense has faced early on this season, noting that hitters striking out in crucial opportunities with men in scoring position has been a factor in hindering the chances of winning.
Per Dave Roberts: “Right now, (it is) a little problematic. I think that strikeouts are gonna happen, but for as long as I can remember I’ve talked about being a good hitter and being able to put the ball in play. And then you start to layer in the strikeout with runners in scoring position where you just gotta move the ball forward. And so for me, that’s something that has to get better.”