Kyle Tucker’s first season with the Los Angeles Dodgers has not gone according to plan, but he found some success against the New York Mets over the weekend.
Tucker reached base three times and homered in the Dodgers’ 4-2 win on Friday at Citi Field. He went deep again the following game, marking the first time all year he hit home runs in back-to-back contests.
Manager Dave Roberts has maintained confidence in Tucker not just for his track record but also for his more recent willingness to discuss his approach with the team’s hitting coaches.
“For me, it stems from I think he’s starting to become more open and talk about his feels, thoughts; specifically with the hitting guys. That’s a good sign for me,” Roberts said of Tucker on SportsNet LA.
“And I see a lot more back-and-forth dialogue with the hitting guys, which I didn’t see before. And also I think the swings, the hard contact, has been better. The at-bats, he’s getting some more walks recently. So all those things, for me, the arrow is pointing up.”
Because he is naturally reserved, Tucker tried to work through his struggles on his own earlier this season.
“Yeah. He’s very internal,” Roberts said. “So I think a lot of it, he was trying to figure out on his own.”
Along with communicating more with Dodgers coaches, Tucker made changes to his mechanics and approach at the start of July. However, the 29-year-old recently noted that he has grown frustrated with not being able to turn his visualized success into results at the plate.
Kyle Tucker’s 2026 stats
While Tucker has shown signs of improvement as of late, hits are still few and far between for the four-time All-Star. Since the start of the second half, he is only 5-for-28 (.179) with the two home runs and four RBI in eight games.
For the season, Tucker is batting .239/.334/.376 with 18 doubles, two triples, nine home runs and 51 RBI in 99 games. Tucker’s 97 OPS+ would be his lowest since briefly appearing with the Houston Astros in 2018. Before this year, he had not posted an OPS+ lower than 118 in any of his other full seasons.
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