Five hits in the first two games this weekend against the Padres have dropped the Dodgers into second place.
The Dodgers dropped the first two games to the Padres this weekend at Petco Park, and will need a win on Sunday to escape San Diego with a share of first place in the National League West.
Alex Freeland was the entire Dodgers offense for a second straight day with a solo home run in Saturday’s 5-1 loss. The Dodgers had only five hits on Friday and Saturday combined, their first time getting held to that low of a two-game hit total in four years.
On June 23, 2021 the Dodgers lost 5-3 to the Padres in San Diego, collecting five hits. The next night at Dodger Stadium, Zach Davies and three Cubs relievers combined for a no-hitter at Dodger Stadium.
“There’s a point in the season where you’re trying to find your swing. We’re at the end of August,” manager Dave Roberts said Saturday night, as shown on SportsNet LA. “It’s just about getting the job done and find some production.”
Ben Clemens at FanGraphs earlier in the week looked at the propensity of called strikeouts right down the pipe, and how the leaderboard among batters on these “meatball strikeouts” are a group of mostly good hitters, including Shohei Ohtani. Clemens also provided context:
Think of it this way: Ohtani has seen 141 middle-middle pitches in two-strike counts. Sure, he’s taken 19 strikeouts. He’s also socked 11 homers, two doubles, and four triples on those pitches. Those middle-middle strikeouts aren’t hurting him that much; his results on contact are so dang good that his overall production on two-strike meatballs is high even as he gives up a few freebies. Meanwhile, he’s seen 378 pitches outside the zone with two strikes, and he’s swung at 133 of them. He’d love to cut down on those swings. He sees more bad pitches than good ones and performs well on the good ones even as he takes a few for strikeouts. Why would he change this equilibrium, exactly?
Coincidentally, Sunday Padres starter Nick Pivetta has been thriving in the middle of the plate this season, which Clemens also covered this week.
Bill Shaikin at the Los Angeles Times lamented that the Dodgers and Padres won’t play again this regular season after Sunday.
“This is baseball’s best rivalry, with a division title and potential first-round playoff bye on the line,” Shaikin wrote. “The Dodgers and Padres should be facing each other to wrap up the season, with all that emotion bursting forth.”
Category: General Sports
