The Los Angeles Dodgers defeated the Washington Nationals in a 4-1 victory on Tuesday at Nationals Park as the offense delivered with a few timely hits, including one from James Outman in the eighth inning.
Going 3-for-10 with runners in scoring position, the Dodgers were on par with their opponent that went 3-for-9 in those same spots.
Outman, however, came through with a pinch-hit RBI-double that broke a 1-1 tie. On the sixth pitch of the at-bat, the lefty stroked a hanging splitter down the right-field line, scoring Teoscar Hernández.
The big swing off the bench was a solid moment after a slow start, and it provided his team with a boost that also carried them to a win, Juan Toribio of MLB.com:
“Yeah, it felt good to deliver, for sure,” Outman said. “I think it’s just a long season, and it didn’t start off exactly how I would’ve liked. But you know, it’s a long season, and the work has to be put in whether it’s going well or it’s not. Just kind of plugging away.”
The eighth inning double was just his third double of the season, raising his line to .191/.276/.324 with a 75 wRC+.
But the talk around Outman has been his BABIP and 44.4% number of hard hit balls. His margin for breaking through and returning to the same normal production as he displayed in his rookie season is very close to happening.
James Outman thriving when ahead in the count
With as much swing and miss that Outman has in his offensive profile, his biggest enemy to success at the plate is finding himself behind in the count.
When behind in the count, he’s batting .100/.129/.233 with 15 strikeouts in 30 at-bats. However, when ahead in the count, Outman owns a .400/.591/.667 slash.
The stark difference in numbers when in command at the plate will shift how both pitchers and Outman himself approach at-bats.
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