Dodgers Getting ‘Bullied’ By Fastballs

The Los Angeles Dodgers may finally be emerging from their worst stretch of the season that included a seven-game losing streak and dropping three consecutive series.

The Dodgers offense has shown inconsistency at times over the past few weeks, which can be attributed to several factors. Among them is the team’s issue with grounding into double plays, as they lead all of baseball in that category.

The Dodgers have also struggled with hitting fastballs, which is something that manager Dave Roberts wants to see improve.

“It never feels good to be bullied,” Roberts said of the team’s difficulty against heaters. “And to think that, or to know, that teams go after us with the fastball more than any team in baseball, that’s bothersome. That would bother me.

“So, how do you do it? You got to look in your zone and get the bat head to it. We’ve scored runs, a lot of runs, fourth in baseball. But that doesn’t tell the whole story. And so the story is being the best version of ourselves, and that’s hitting the fastball, and making adjustments in at-bats, situationally, all of them.

“So yeah, it’s something that I hope our guys take that personal. We shouldn’t get bullied.”

Dodgers struggling against fastball

According to Fabian Ardaya of The Athletic, the Dodgers have seen the highest percentage of fastballs of any team since July 1. Over that span, the team has posted bottom-five marks in on-base percentage and slugging percentage against the heater.

Perhaps not coincidentally, the Dodgers offense has also declined in general since the start of July. They rank 20th in FanGraphs’ WAR (2.9), 21st in wRC+ (92), 22nd in on-base plus slugging percentage (.703) and 22nd in wOBA (.306) over the span.

Max Muncy (94 wRC+), Tommy Edman (83), Teoscar Hernández (69) and Mookie Betts (68) are just a few of the Dodgers starters who have struggled offensively during the stretch. Though, Muncy has produced clutch hits in back-to-back games, and Betts provided slug in the Dodgers’ win on Tuesday night.

Even with their recent struggles, the Dodgers still have one of the most productive offenses in baseball as a whole. For the season, they rank either first or second in several categories, including batting average, on-base percentage, slugging percentage, wRC+ and FanGraphs’ WAR.