Coming off a one-run loss and needing a win to avoid finishing below .500 on their road trip, the Los Angeles Dodgers had a lineup with Cody Bellinger, Steven Souza Jr., Billy McKinney and Austin Barnes in order leading into the pitcher’s spot.
L.A. managed just four hits in their 2-1 loss, with the aforementioned quartet going a combined 0-for-12 with four strikeouts and Bellinger personally responsible for leaving three runners on base.
The results arguably were predictable given Bellinger’s struggles, Souza not having spent much time in the Majors, and McKinney and Barnes having more value defensively.
“I just think guys are going to have to have days off. That’s just the nature of this game,” manager Dave Roberts explained of several reserves being in the Dodgers lineup on the same day.
“We’ve run other guys and had the same result, so that’s the great thing about this game. It’s not predictable as much as you can look back and say that it was. We know that our offense has struggled with different guys at the bottom.”
While the Dodgers have collectively struggled for multiple weeks, Corey Seager is among the few that has remained productive. Seager — along with Will Smith — were recently highlighted by Roberts as putting together quality at-bats that he wanted to see from the team.
Considering the Dodgers continue to chase the San Francisco Giants in the National League West, sitting so many regulars in the same game, and in particular Seager and Smith, was a curious strategy.
“I just don’t see Corey Seager playing 13 in a row,” Roberts explained. “The bottom line is we’ve got to keep him healthy. To put him in harm’s way to get hurt, that doesn’t do us any good either.”
Muncy: Dodgers aware of struggles
While the Dodgers have had multiple players go on impressive stretches of production, Max Muncy acknowledged the team is aware of their inconsistency this season.
“Pitchers come out and they gave us their best, and we really haven’t been giving our best back at them,” he said .”It’s just one of those things where we have the talent and we’re just not putting it together. We haven’t really been able to do it all year.
“I think if you ask anyone on this team they’ll tell you we’ve really sucked on the offensive side.”
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