The return on investment for Michael Conforto was looking great over the Dodgers’ first six games, as the left-handed hitting outfielder slashed .368/.500/.737 and tallying RBI extra-base hits in four straight games.
Since then, he has been one of the worst hitters in all of baseball, as he is hitting just .088 with a home run and two RBI, striking out 32 times while seeing his overall average drop down to .141 and OPS down to .528.
Despite the struggles he’s experienced at the plate, the plan is to continue giving Conforto everyday playing time to work his kinks out on their own, per Bill Plunkett of the Orange County Register.
“I have thought about it,” Roberts said of benching Conforto at least temporarily. “I know he’s grinding right now. We’ll see. … If he doesn’t look more comfortable, to be able to give him a couple days off might make sense. But right now, I want to keep running him out there.”
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The duo of Teoscar Hernández and Andy Pages have emerged as the two most explosive bats in the Dodgers lineup over the past two weeks. Their success on the field is fueled by a close bond the two share in the clubhouse, and it was Hernández who helped guide Pages through his early season struggles before fully breaking out as a rising star, notes Jack Harris of the Los Angeles Times.
“We’ve always been really close,” Pages said through an interpreter. “We talked through a lot of things. We’ve been talking through a lot of difficult times. A lot of the good times. Obviously, he has a lot of experience in the big leagues, so I utilize him for some of these difficult times. But we’ve had a close relationship since the beginning.”
It took Roki Sasaki seven big league starts and a three hour rain delay to finally capture his first career win. Sasaki continues to make major strides with each start, but his fastball has been the biggest area of concern and the right-hander has been forced to mix in other pitches to limit any potential damage, per Fabian Ardaya of The Athletic.
“I’m not exactly satisfied with my fastball quality,” Sasaki said through interpreter Will Ireton. “But mixing in my other pitches, as long as I command my other pitches well, then I feel like I can get major-league hitters out.”
