The Milwaukee Brewers started a right-handed pitcher in each of the first two games at American Family Field, but Cody Bellinger was not in the Los Angeles Dodgers lineup to face Brandon Woodruff.
While the Dodgers have at times sat Bellinger against a left-hander deemed to be a tough matchup, he’s essentially among the team’s everyday players. That’s been despite another inconsistent season that’s seen Bellinger named National League Player of the Week but also go into slumps.
He’s mired in another downturn at the plate, which prompted Dodgers manager Dave Roberts to have a conversation with Bellinger after he went 0-for-4 with two strikeouts in a 4-0 win against the Brewers in the series opener.
Roberts explained the decision to bench Bellinger on Tuesday and Wednesday stems from wanting to provide him with an opportunity to bounce back, via SportsNet LA:
“For Cody, I just wanted to give him a little bit of a reset. We’ll have him down [Tuesday], [Wednesday]. He’s been, I guess we all use the word ‘grinding’ a lot. You look back 10 days ago, he was coming out of something, felt really good. Just recently I see him pressing a little bit, so just to give him a chance to sit back, reset, and then we’ll get him back in there Thursday or Friday. We had a good conversation, and this is more kind of playing the short-term and the longterm view to best serve him.”
Bellinger is just 2-for-19 with six strikeouts since slugging two home runs as part of a three-hit game against the San Diego Padres on Aug. 7. One of those hits during the skid was a homer off Kansas City Royals infielder Nicky Lopez.
When previously discussing Bellinger’s up and down career since winning the 2019 NL MVP Award, Roberts said he believed the 27-year-old had gained a full understanding of his swing and body. Bellinger underwent shoulder surgery after the Dodgers won the 2020 World Series and it seemingly has set off an endless period of mechanical adjustments.
Bellinger made Dodgers franchise history
When Bellinger hit two home runs against the Padres earlier this month, it marked his second time doing so this year. Bellinger became the first player in Dodgers franchise history with two multi-homer games against the Padres in a single season.
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