The Recurrence of the Lefty Nightmare
The Dodgers rankedlastin just about every category against left-handed pitchers in 2016, hitting .213 with a woeful .612 OPS and only 37 home runs. The acquisitions of Logan Forsythe and Franklin Gutierrez were supposed to provide an elixir for what manager Dave Robertscalled“the perfect storm” of factors for their aversion to hitting southpaws.
Gutierrez and Forsythe figured prominently in yesterday’s lineup against Richard, with Forsythe at the top slot and Gutierrez hitting clean up. The duocombinedfor three harmless singles and a walk in six at-bats. For good measure, they were erased three times on double plays.
And therein lies the problem – the Dodgers were rolling over time and time again against Richard. He pitched eight scoreless innings – 24 outs – and created 16 outs on the ground. The Dodgers were vexed by his three-quarter delivery, trying to pull outside pitches and getting tied up on inside pitches. Hitting coach Turner Ward and assistant hitting coach Tim Hyersspentthe majority of last season and this offseason figuring out solutions and new approaches for the team.
At least for one day, even with the return of supposedlefty-killerScott Van Slyke joining the new acquisitions, it was the same story as 2016.
Add us as a preferred source onGoogleLoading recommendations... Please wait while we load personalized content recommendations