While the Los Angeles Dodgers have primarily needed to call on their starting pitching depth, they’ve also benefitted from their surplus of outfielders. An injury to Andre Ethier during Spring Training opened the door for Trayce Thompson, who has taken full advantage.
Thompson forced his way into regular playing time in left field, filled the void in right when Yasiel Puig was on the disabled list, and now finds himself in center field because a sprained right AC joint forced Joc Pederson to the 15-day DL.
Dodgers president of baseball operations Andrew Friedman and manager Dave Roberts have complimented Thompson on several occasions this season for his versatility and poise as a young player.
Thompson showed off some of his athleticism in the first inning on Tuesday night, robbing Baltimore Orioles third baseman Manny Machado of an extra-base hit and RBI:
Los Angeles went on to take a 1-0 lead in the bottom of the first behind an Adrian Gonzalez RBI base hit.
However, the Orioles took a 4-1 lead on Manny Machado’s towering three-run home run in the fifth that proved to be the difference as they went on to snap the Dodgers’ five-game winning streak and 10-game home winning streak.
