There are lofty expectations for anyone that gets signed to a contract with an annual average value of $60 million. In the case of Kyle Tucker, it appeared as though the expectations were too tough to reach throughout the beginning of the season.
Tucker was performing at a below league-average rate over his first 33 games of the season, as he slashed .236/.322/.362 while having dropped in the lineup considerably from second on opening day to hitting routinely in the cleanup and five spots in the lineup. Since the Dodgers went into Houston to face Tucker’s old team, the outfielder has found a new gear at the plate and has been one of the Dodgers’ hottest hitters over his last 10 games.
Tucker has a .323 batting average over his last 10 games since the series opener against the Astros, and while the home run power hasn’t broken through, he has five doubles and as many walks as strikeouts. Dave Roberts knows that is still more to come from Tucker at the plate, per Bill Plunkett of the Orange County Register.
“Yes, I think Kyle has looked better the last week. Still not right, for me – and for him,” Roberts said. “I think he is taking much better at-bats. I think he’s been much more consistent controlling the strike zone and not chasing as much which has led to a lot more contact and some hits.”
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Shohei Ohtani was out of the lineup for a second straight game on Thursday, but it didn’t matter too much in the Dodgers’ 5-2 win over the San Francisco Giants to split the four-game set. Ohtani gave Dave Roberts the “ok” to sit out on Thursday in an effort to keep him fresh for the team’s upcoming nine-game road trip, per Sonja Chen of MLB.com.
Said Ohtani, through interpreter Will Ireton: “I talked to the team, and I’m good with it. My last at-bat as a hitter [Tuesday] was really good, so I want to continue that momentum whenever I get to hit again. … Tomorrow’s a day for me to work on that and make sure that that’s really my body, and to make sure that I can do that during a game.”
Kiké Hernández is in the thick of his rehab assignment, and that included a series against the Triple-A Albuquerque Isotopes— the former Triple-A affiliate of the Dodgers. Expecting to receive boos, Hernández was thrown off by the amount of love he received from the Albuquerque fans, per Maddie Lee of the Los Angeles Times.
“A little bit shocked. Slightly embarrassed, but good,” he told reporters, including Geoff Grammer of the Albuquerque Journal, before the Comets’ 8-2 loss on Wednesday.
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