Trending Up, Trending Down: Justin Turner Among Struggling Dodgers
It was a miserable week for the Los Angeles Dodgers — specifically for their offense and bullpen, as they dropped a combined five consecutive games against the Oakland Athletics and Houston Astros.
Astros starter Mike Fiers threw a no-hitter on Friday and the Dodgers’ bullpen couldn’t hold a 2-1 lead in the ninth inning in Sunday’s game. Additionally, Los Angeles scored just nine runs during the five-game span.
Going winless in a week for the first time all season, let’s analyze the ups and downs during the rough stretch.
Trending Down:
Justin Turner: Getting a start in all five games last week, Turner struggled mightily at the plate.
In 20 plate appearances, he reached base safely three times, drawing two walks and hitting a single (.150 on-base percentage). While it was a forgettable two series, he did end the Dodgers’ scoring drought on Saturday with an RBI-single. His slash line for the year still remains elite at .304/.365/.528.
Yasmani Grandal: Starting in three games behind the plate last week, Grandal drew one walk and didn’t record a hit in nine plate appearances. Additionally, he struck out four times and saw his on-base plus slugging drop by 21 points during the five-game span.
Joc Pederson: Though he drew five walks in five games (three starts), Pederson failed to record a hit for the second consecutive week. He struck out three times in 12 plate appearances and saw his slash line fall to .214/.357/.441 on the season.
Additionally, consistent playing time moving forward may suddenly be in question for the rookie center fielder.
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sabermetrics seems to be a good way to build a team that can make the playoffs but can’t win against quality opponents. There has to be some balance between the advanced stats and say the ability to hit safely 30% of the time and the ability to drive in runs. Sabermetrics are useful but the old school stats still matter.
it seems like this team has been back and forth for quite some time now. I think we can expect a big hot streak right after this. If not, i think they’ll struggle to make the playoffs.