The Los Angeles Dodgers entered their three-game series against the Chicago Cubs on a bit of a hot streak, having won seven of their previous eight contests against the likes of the Cincinnati Reds and Milwaukee Brewers.
However, things have since cooled with the Dodgers dropping back-to-back contests to Chicago. Scrutinized in the losses were manager Dave Roberts’ lineups, which featured Cody Bellinger in the six spot and Chris Taylor getting the nod over Joc Pederson and Alex Verdugo in left field.
Roberts revealed his strategy behind the starting lineups and indicated that he primarily wanted to split up the left-handed batters from the right-handed ones, via Jorge Castillo of the L.A. Times:
Roberts explained the club — constructing lineups are a collaborative effort between manager and front office — wanted to split Bellinger and shortstop Corey Seager, another left-handed hitter in the fourth spot, with A.J. Pollock, a right-handed hitter, between them and Taylor, another right-handed hitter, behind Bellinger. The idea was to make it more difficult for the Cubs to play the matchups with their bullpen later in the game.
In Tuesday’s opener against the Cubs, Bellinger dropped to the No. 6 slot and went 1-for-4 with left-handed starting pitcher Jose Quintana on the mound. Taylor, who has struggled for the better part of the season, went 0-for-3 behind him.
The Dodgers produced minimal offense in the contest and fell by a final score of 7-2. While the club scored six runs in Wednesday’s loss, Bellinger again batted sixth with Taylor directly in back of him.
Thursday’s finale was a different story, as Bellinger returned to the cleanup spot while Taylor, playing shortstop in place of Corey Seager, continued batting seventh.
