Los Angeles Dodgers have become addicted to home runs
The Los Angeles Dodgers have been flexing their muscle all month long, blasting homer after homer. However, with LA’s situational hitting proving erratic, has the team become too reliant on the long ball?
The Los Angeles Dodgers have unveiled a new-age, cutting edge offensive strategy. It’s called hitting a bunch of home runs.
The team has hit a whopping 48 homers in June, and they still have several games left to add to that total. The team has blasted nine dingers over the last couple of games, but they have only scored ten runs combined.
On the season, LA is hitting just .237 with runners in scoring position. The home runs are great, but the Dodgers will need to improve their situational hitting if they hope to get anything meaningful done this year.
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Kike Hernandez has been a revelation, already setting a new a career high in home runs with 13. Since June 1st, Joc Pederson has hit nine long balls with an OPS over 1.300.
Max Muncy isn’t far behind Pederson’s pace, as he has blasted eight homers with an OPS of almost 1.200. Chris Taylor has also been a pinch-hitting machine while still nursing a sore hamstring.
With Pederson, Taylor, and Muncy continuing to impress, Cody Bellinger seems to be back online as well. After a rugged start, Cody Bellinger appears to be on his way to another 30 HR/.850 OPS season.
It was also great to see Justin Turner join in on the fun, blasting a solo shot to cap off a sweep of the Mets. That same day, LA tied the record for solo homers in a game with seven.
All these bombs have gotten LA to just a game and a half behind first-place Arizona in the West. They are now only three games behind Milwaukee and Atlanta for the best record in the NL, and the team has won 16 of their 21 games so far in June.
Hitting a ton of homers isn’t exactly new for the Dodgers. LA led the NL in that category in 2015 and hit the 4th most home-runs last year.
It’s not all sunshine and ice cream for the Dodgers, however. The team has hit .241 overall, good for just 18th in baseball. The team also appears to be without a true base stealing threat, as their 26 swiped bags is the second-lowest mark in the NL.
That doesn’t exactly equate to postseason success, as they figure to hit fewer bombs off of top-notch pitching. LA will have to find a way to improve their situational hitting in an attempt to manufacture runs. As it stands, they have become far too reliant on the long ball.
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Luckily, they are getting on base at a reasonable amount, ranking 4th in the NL in OBP. If the Los Angeles Dodgers can find a way to get a few more hits with runners in scoring position, the team will have another good shot at advancing through the postseason.
Being aided by the occasional home run wouldn’t hurt either.