A breakdown of the Dodgers' success hitting different pitch types reveals a glaring weakness — one their opponents figure to exploit as long as they're able.
Reducing the solution to a baseball team's struggles to one quick fix is almost always an oversimplification. There is no silver bullet. The team doesn't need to bunt more.
Still, a struggling squad has to start somewhere. For the Los Angeles Dodgers, losers of five in a row, that somewhere might just be one specific pitch they can't seem to handle — at least, not as well as they would like. Gavin Lux: "As a team, I don't think we're hitting the fastball really well right now... It's just a part of baseball. It's still a really good group, a really good lineup. It's just one of those runs where we're not really clicking."Lux pointed to the Dodgers' inability to square up fastballs on Sunday after they were limited to five hits and one run by the Cincinnati Reds. A deeper dive into the numbers shows exactly what he's talking about.
The answer might not matter. The Dodgers seem to have identified a tangible problem worth drilling down on. Until they solve it, teams will continue to exploit this weakness of the Dodgers' lineup — once few saw coming when the season began.J.P. Hoornstra writes and edits Major League Baseball content for Inside the Dodgers, and is the author of 'The 50 Greatest Dodger Games Of All Time.' He once recorded a keyboard solo on the same album as two of the original Doors.
United States Latest News, United States Headlines
Similar News:You can also read news stories similar to this one that we have collected from other news sources.
Gavin Stone pitches seven strong innings to give Dodgers their 14th win in 16 gamesTeoscar Hernández drives in all three runs, including a two-run homer in the sixth inning, to support Gavin Stone in a 3-1 win over the Marlins on Wednesday.
Read more »
Gavin Stone shines as Dodgers sweep Marlins for 7th straight winThe right-hander gives up up one run over seven innings and Teoscar Hernandez’s two-run homer in the sixth is the difference in a 3-1 victory.
Read more »
Dodgers Dugout: How do the Dodgers do in clutch hitting situations?The Dodgers sometimes get criticized for being a poor clutch-hitting team. But is that a valid complaint?
Read more »
Dodgers Dugout: Should the Dodgers be worried about Walker Buehler?Walker Buehler has been shaky in his first two starts since his second Tommy John surgery. Should the Dodgers be worried?
Read more »
Dodgers Dugout: Is the Dodgers' win-loss record a mirage?The Dodgers have one of the best records in baseball, but are they really as good as that so far this season?
Read more »
The Sports Report: Yoshinobu Yamamoto leads Dodgers to victoryYoshinobu Yamamoto pitches eight strong innings and Dodgers get homers from Max Muncy and Gavin Lux in victory.
Read more »