LOS ANGELES – Something is dragging the Dodgers’ offense down and it is spelled with a capital K.
Through Saturday, the Dodgers led the National League in strikeouts (221) and were just one behind the Boston Red Sox for the major-league lead. Teoscar Hernandez (33) and Max Muncy (32) rank fourth and fifth individually with the most strikeouts in the majors. In fewer plate appearances, James Outman has a strikeout rate (32.4 percent) nearly as high as those two (40.5 and 39.5, respectively).
“Yeah, drag is a good word,” Dodgers manager Dave Roberts said. “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.”
The Dodgers led the majors through Saturday in at-bats with runners in scoring position (225), thanks in part to their two-game head start in Seoul. But they also lead in strikeouts with runners in scoring position – 69 with a 10-K edge over the next most prolific K team (the Pittsburgh Pirates) in those situations.
Saturday’s loss to the New York Mets was the most egregious example. The Dodgers were 1 for 8 with the bases loaded, striking out six times.
“I think that they’re not all created equal as far as the results,” Roberts said by way of diagnosing the problem. “I think at times, there’s expanding (the strike zone) early. As opposed to getting ahead in the count, you’re behind 0-1. Essentially, there’s a panic at some point, right? And then we’re just not making contact.
“This is not everyone. Everyone is not guilty. It’s hard. But I still think the best hitters are typically the best hitters with runners in scoring position. There’s a parallel there. And if you’re not a good hitter, then you’re typically not very good with runners in scoring position. And (being a good) hitter is the bat to ball.”
PITCHING PLANS
The Dodgers moved left-hander James Paxton’s next start back to Tuesday in Washington and started Tyler Glasnow on Sunday. The move prevented Glasnow from having to wait a week between starts.
Paxton, on the other hand, will have eight days off between starts. Landon Knack will start Wednesday with Yoshinobu Yamamoto on Thursday – giving him five days off between starts.
The Dodgers have clearly decided both Paxton and Yamamoto perform better on extra rest. In Yamamoto’s case, it’s based on his familiarity with pitching once a week in Japan. In Paxton’s case, the 35-year-old has a history of pitching better on extra rest. In 70 career starts with four days’ rest, he has a 4.11 ERA and 1.31 WHIP. With more rest, his career ERA drops to 3.33 and his WHIP to 1.18.
After his start on Friday, Yamamoto was asked to assess where he is five starts into his big-league career.
“I’m starting to get the feel of some things,” Yamamoto said in Japanese. “There are times that I am gradually able to pitch my style, I think it’s getting better bit by bit, so I’m hoping to focus and pitch one game at a time.
“There are some good things that are gradually coming out. But I would like to pitch so that we can win games.”
The Dodgers have lost four of Yamamoto’s first five starts.
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ALSO
Roberts confirmed that Walker Buehler will make another rehab start with Triple-A Oklahoma City on Wednesday in Albuquerque. Buehler has a 4.26 ERA over his four previous rehab starts (three with OKC, one with Class-A Rancho Cucamonga) with 12 hits, seven walks and 11 strikeouts over 12 ⅔ innings.
UP NEXT
The Dodgers are off Monday.
Dodgers (LHP James Paxton, 2-0, 2.81 ERA) at Nationals (LHP Patrick Corbin, 0-3, 8.06 ERA), Tuesday, 3:45 p.m. PT, SportsNet LA, 570 AM
