Trending Up, Trending Down: Yasiel Puig Gives Dodgers Needed Spark
Hoping to rebound from a disappointing 3-5 week, the Los Angeles Dodgers took five out of six games against divisional opponents, the Arizona Diamondbacks and San Diego Padres.
With a 5-1 week, the Dodgers were able to gain three games on second-place San Francisco Giants, who were swept over the weekend by the Diamondbacks, to further pad their lead in the National League West.
Let’s analyze the players who had successful weeks and those that didn’t.
Trending Down:
Adrian Gonzalez: In six starts this week, Gonzalez went 4-for-25 (.160 batting average) with three walks and two strikeouts. Not all was bad howeer, as he drove in the go-ahead run on Sunday to clinch a series victory over the Padres. Despite the rough stretch, his slash line for the year remains solid at .313/.394/.555.
Joc Pederson: Getting a start in all six games over the week, Pederson had just two hits in 28 plate appearances, but drew eight walks and was hit by a pitch twice to maintain his high on-base percentage (.429).
He also salvaged a disappointing week by making a spectacular game-saving catch in the ninth inning of Sunday’s game. Even with the slump, Pederson’s batting line on the season is still strong at .248/.386/.543.
Jimmy Rollins: Staring in five games and appearing in six total, Rollins reached base just twice in 19 plate appearances (.105 on-base percentage). One of those hits did go for a home run, but it was another tough week for him to say the least. Not surprisingly, his slash line dropped to .199/.260/.336.
CONTINUE READING: Yasiel Puig Gives Dodgers Much Needed Spark
