Amid recent struggles from their star-studded offense, some of the Dodgers’ biggest names opted for levity on Saturday afternoon.
When Freddie Freeman and Shohei Ohtani bumped into each other in the Dodger Stadium parking lot upon arriving at the ballpark, the scuffling Freeman joked with the slumping Ohtani: “Can we please get some hits today?”
When Kyle Tucker, mired in his own early-season cold spell, popped his head in the training room before first pitch, he sarcastically went around the room asking, “Do you have hits? Do you have hits?”
For the first time in at least a little while, the answer to every such question was a resounding yes by the end of the evening.
In a 12-4 rout of the Chicago Cubs, the Dodgers found renewed life at the plate, racking up 14 hits, going 7-for-18 with runners in scoring position, mounting their biggest rally of the year in a six-run fourth inning, and putting the game away by scoring four more in the sixth.
“I think we made a statement,” catcher Dalton Rushing said. “Now we just gotta carry it over into tomorrow.”
To do that consistently, however, the Dodgers still need their best bats to heat up.
And even in the wake of Saturday’s outburst, questions are lingering around their biggest stars.
That’s not to say Saturday didn’t yield some improvements from the likes of Ohtani, Freeman and Tucker among others. All of them had a hit. Ohtani, who also drew two walks, reached base three times. And each made contributions to at least one of their big offensive innings.
On the whole, though, there is more to be desired from each amid somewhat sluggish opening-month performances. After all, at some point, they are the ones who will have to spearhead the offense long-term.
Source: California Post – Breaking California News, Photos & Videos
