Latest news with #Dave Roberts
New York Times
2 days ago
- Sport
- New York Times
Dodgers' Shohei Ohtani homers in career-best fifth straight game
Shohei Ohtani's solution for the sliding Los Angeles Dodgers: take on even more of the load himself. The reigning National League MVP continued his torrid stretch on Wednesday afternoon, launching a home run in his fifth consecutive game in the first inning against the Minnesota Twins' Chris Paddack. Advertisement The solo blast, which extended Ohtani's longest career streak of games with a home run (along with the most ever for a Japanese-born player), allowed the slugger to regain sole possession of the National League home run lead with 37. It also was an early spark for a Dodgers team that has lost 11 of its last 14 and whose relief pitching hit 'rock bottom' just hours prior, as Dodgers manager Dave Roberts said Tuesday night. 5 STRAIGHT GAMES WITH A HOMER FOR SHOHEI — MLB (@MLB) July 23, 2025 'I feel he's trying to will his way to kind of getting us over the hump,' Roberts said this weekend. So continued Ohtani's Tungsten-like stretch, pouncing on a hanging two-strike curveball from Paddack and launching it 441 feet to center field. The stretch marked the seventh time in club history that a player has hit home runs in five consecutive games, and the first time since Max Muncy in 2019. First came a two-run blast off of All-Star right-hander Freddy Peralta, crushing a ball to left center field to spark the Dodgers to come back and tie Saturday's game against the Milwaukee Brewers (they'd lose, 8-7). He gave the Dodgers their first lead after the break with a two-run homer he sliced into the home bullpen in left field on Sunday – the Dodgers would fall, 6-5. After surrendering his first home run as a pitcher in a Dodger uniform on Monday, the two-way star got his run back with a two-run shot to center off of David Festa. 'It's easy to really fall into the trap of getting a little bit tense, especially when the mood is not that great,' Ohtani said Monday through interpreter Will Ireton. 'So it's really trying to balance and find a way to stay relaxed while you play. And at the same time, yeah, I do feel responsible for it.' The streak continued into Tuesday night, when he crushed a ninth-inning home run off of Twins closer Jhoan Durán in an eventual 10-7 loss. It marked the first home run Durán had allowed all season. Advertisement 'Seems like every night he's doing his part,' Roberts said. 'He's not letting the scoreboard dictate his effort.' The Dodgers offense has been in need of someone to carry it. Entering Wednesday, they had the third-worst team OPS in July (.649) in large part due to the absence of Max Muncy and the continued struggles of proven stars like Mookie Betts, Freddie Freeman and Teoscar Hernández. Still, the Dodgers have downplayed the idea of adding a bat before next week's trade deadline. 'I think you get Muncy back and we're talking about future Hall of Famers in Freddie and Mookie that haven't been performing up to what our expectations are,' Dodgers general manager Brandon Gomes said. 'I feel strongly those guys will get it back on track and then as some of the other guys get back into a groove.' (Top photo of Shohei Ohtani rounding the bases after his 37th home run of the season: Kiyoshi Mio-Imagn Images)
Yahoo
4 days ago
- Sport
- Yahoo
Shohei Ohtani gives up his first homer of the season, then hits a 2-run shot of his own
LOS ANGELES (AP) — Shohei Ohtani gave up his first home run of the season when Minnesota's Byron Buxton took him deep. He promptly answered with a two-run shot of his own. The Los Angeles Dodgers' two-way superstar left a breaking ball over the plate on his second pitch of the game and Buxton drove it 410 feet to the left field pavilion on Monday night. It was just the second time in six appearances as an opener this season that Ohtani has allowed a run. Ohtani topped Buxton in the bottom of the inning. He blasted a two-run shot — his 35th of the season — 441 feet into center field off David Festa, giving the Dodgers a 2-1 lead after Mookie Betts led off with a walk. He struck out swinging in the third. Ohtani is the first Dodgers pitcher to homer in the first inning since Rick Rhoden at Montreal in July 1977. He has homered in three straight games for the slumping Dodgers, who have lost six straight at home for the first time since September 2017. Ohtani allowed one run and four hits in three innings. He struck out three and walked one on 46 pitches, 30 for strikes. 'I like the demeanor on the mound,' Dodgers manager Dave Roberts said before the game. 'What to improve on I think the only thing right now in this small sample is just to continue to build up. The fastball, strike-throwing, the secondaries are all in a good spot.' Ohtani pitched three scoreless innings against the San Francisco Giants in his previous mound start as he continues to work his way back from elbow surgery. He did not pitch at all last season, his first for the Dodgers. ___ AP MLB:
Yahoo
5 days ago
- Sport
- Yahoo
Dodgers move Mookie Betts to leadoff spot in attempt to break him out of season-long slump
Mookie Betts is back in the Los Angeles Dodgers' lineup on Sunday after getting Saturday off in an attempt to bust his season-long batting slump. But there's a twist to Betts' return. Betts will bat leadoff, moving Shohei Ohtani to the No. 2 spot in the batting order. Ohtani has hit in the leadoff spot for all of the Dodgers' previous 97 games this season. However, manager Dave Roberts says this is a temporary move for Betts, who last batted leadoff in June 2024. The intention is to change Betts' approach at the plate, focusing on getting on base and taking good at-bats, according to Roberts. Betts will likely move out of the leadoff spot when Max Muncy returns from the injured list, expected to happen in two weeks or so. Betts is 0-for-12 in his past three games and Roberts decided to give him a day off after seeing that he was chasing pitches out of the strike zone more frequently. He's currently putting up the worst numbers of his career, batting .241/.311/.377 in 395 plate appearances, and spent the All-Star break at home in Nashville to work on his swing. Prior to Saturday's decision, Roberts didn't appear to believe that moving Betts to a different spot in the batting order was a solution. "I just don't know if hitting him first or ninth or anywhere between changes where he's at mechanically," Roberts told reporters. "I think he's very sold on the fact that he's gotta clean some things up mechanically." Betts echoed those thoughts when talking to reporters about the lineup change before Sunday's game, saying his issues are more about finding the right feel with his swing. Whether or not the move affects Ohtani could also be a concern. The Dodgers' designated hitter is batting .274/.379/.604 with 33 home runs, 63 RBI and 13 stolen bases. Another decision that the Dodgers may have to consider with Betts is whether to move him from shortstop back to second base or right field. He's played the position full-time this season. The Dodgers have others who could play the position with Tommy Edman, Miguel Rojas and Hyeseong Kim. Meanwhile, Roberts wasn't happy about Teoscar Hernández's play in right field in Saturday's 8-7 loss to the Milwaukee Brewers, criticizing how he played a third-inning line drive by Blake Perkins that became a triple. 'That ball's gotta be a double, it's got to be cut off," Roberts told reporters. "Those are little things that can't happen.' The Dodgers (58-41) have lost their first two games since the All-Star break and 11 of their past 13.
Yahoo
5 days ago
- Sport
- Yahoo
Dodgers move slumping Mookie Betts to leadoff spot, push Shohei Ohtani to No. 2 spot
Mookie Betts is back in the Los Angeles Dodgers' lineup on Sunday after getting Saturday off in an attempt to bust his season-long batting slump. But there's a twist to Betts' return. Betts will bat leadoff, moving Shohei Ohtani to the No. 2 spot in the batting order. Ohtani has hit in the leadoff spot for all of the Dodgers' previous 97 games this season. Manager Dave Roberts says this is a temporary move for Betts, who last batted leadoff in June 2024. The intention is to change Betts' approach at the plate, focusing on getting on base and taking good at-bats, according to Roberts. Betts will likely move out of the leadoff spot when Max Muncy returns from the injured list, expected to happen in two weeks or so. Betts is 0-for-12 in his past three games and Roberts decided to give him a day off after seeing that he was chasing pitches out of the strike zone more frequently. He's currently putting up the worst numbers of his career, batting .241/.311/.377 in 395 plate appearances, and spent the All-Star break at home in Nashville working on his swing. Prior to Saturday's decision, Roberts didn't appear to believe that moving Betts to a different spot in the batting order was a solution. "I just don't know if hitting him first or ninth or anywhere between changes where he's at mechanically," Roberts told reporters. "I think he's very sold on the fact that he's gotta clean some things up mechanically." Betts echoed those thoughts when talking to reporters about the lineup change before Sunday's game, saying his issues are more about finding the right feel with his swing. Whether or not the move affects Ohtani could also be a concern. The Dodgers' designated hitter is batting .274/.379/.604 with 33 home runs, 63 RBI and 13 stolen bases. Another decision that the Dodgers may have to consider with Betts is whether to move him from shortstop back to second base or right field. He's played the position full-time this season. The Dodgers have others who could play the position with Tommy Edman, Miguel Rojas and Hyeseong Kim. Meanwhile, Roberts wasn't happy about Teoscar Hernández's play in right field in Saturday's 8-7 loss to the Milwaukee Brewers, criticizing how he played a third-inning line drive by Blake Perkins that became a triple. 'That ball's gotta be a double, it's got to be cut off," Roberts told reporters. "Those are little things that can't happen.' The Dodgers (58-41) have lost their first two games since the All-Star break and 11 of their past 13.
Yahoo
6 days ago
- Sport
- Yahoo
'As lucky as we could be.' Dodgers' Max Muncy already recovering better than expected
Max Muncy knew he had gotten lucky, after his ugly-looking knee injury earlier this month proved to be nothing more than a bone bruise. But, when doctors explained how close he came to suffering something so much worse, from when Michael A. Taylor slid into his leg at third base on July 2, even Muncy was amazed by the infinitesimal margins. 'If the timing was just a millisecond different either way,' he was told, 'you're probably looking at surgery, and done for a long time.' Instead, barely two weeks removed from having the outside of his knee bent inward on that play, Muncy was out doing early work at Dodger Stadium on Friday afternoon; running in the outfield, playing catch with coaches and performing agility drills in front of trainers without any obvious signs of pain or discomfort. Read more: Dodgers are shut out by Brewers, but Tyler Glasnow shows signs of growth 'We're pleasantly, not surprised, but happy with the spot that I'm in right now,' Muncy said afterward, having also taken swings for the first time since his injury earlier on Friday afternoon. 'It feels great. I'm moving well. Progressing quickly. We're trying to be smart about it, and understand where we're at, and what it's gonna take to get back on the field. But we're in a really good spot … We're kind of right where we think we should be at.' If not, it seems, already a few steps ahead. While Muncy was initially expected to miss roughly six weeks with his left knee bone bruise, manager Dave Roberts struck a more optimistic tone as the Dodgers opened the second half of their season. 'He's in great shape right now,' Roberts said Friday. 'I don't really know a timeline. But I do know … it's going to be a lot sooner than anticipated, which is good for all of us.' Since Muncy — who was one of the hottest hitters in baseball in May and June — got hurt, the Dodgers have not looked like the same offense. In their last 11 games entering Saturday, the club was 3-8, averaging less than three runs per game, and struggling to fill the gaping hole their slugging third baseman has left in the middle of the lineup. Since the start of July, only the penny-pinching Pittsburgh Pirates have been worse than the Dodgers in batting average (.205) and OPS (.594). 'We've still got a lot of good players,' Roberts said. 'But yeah, there's a certain line of demarcation when Max is not in the lineup, what happens to our offense.' The Dodgers' problems, of course, go beyond Muncy's absence. Shohei Ohtani, Mookie Betts and Freddie Freeman have all been slumping of late (or, in Betts' case, for much of the season). Teoscar Hernández and Tommy Edman have been nowhere near their typical standard since returning from injuries in May. And the depth options the Dodgers have called upon have provided few sparks of life. Still, Muncy figures to be a linchpin in the Dodgers' long-term potential at the plate — with his recovery growing ever-steadily in importance as the rest of the lineup flounders in his wake. 'We got to figure out how to get something going," said outfielder Michael Conforto, chief among the Dodgers' underachievers this season. "Every time we go out there, we expect to score, and that's what we've been doing all year. It's just one of those stretches [where it's] a little bit tougher to get runs in. But, you know, obviously, we have faith in our guys, and some big names in here that made their careers on scoring runs and driving guys in. I think we'll be OK." Muncy, of course, is one of those proven names. And in another fortunate stroke with his recovery, he remains confident his injury won't significantly impact his swing once he does come back. 'If [the injury] was on the inside of the knee, it'd probably be a different story,' Muncy said. 'But just being on the outside, I think it's a good spot, knowing that I don't feel it at all when I'm pushing off on the backside.' Read more: Shaikin: Why the small-market Milwaukee Brewers might be America's team Muncy tested that theory for the first time Friday, taking some light swings in the cage that he said 'felt fine.' 'It's a lot of work, more work than actually playing in the game, which always sucks,' Muncy said of his rehab process. 'But it's that way for a reason … You don't want to have any other injuries that are a side effect from it.' So far, even that latter concern has been quelled, with Muncy noting that 'there's no lingering side effects with it.' 'All in all,' he reiterated, 'we're about as lucky as we could be.' Sign up for more Dodgers news with Dodgers Dugout. Delivered at the start of each series. This story originally appeared in Los Angeles Times.
