The Los Angeles Dodgers offense has hit a rough patch over the last two weeks, which coincides with several key players battling an illness.
Max Muncy, Freddie Freeman, Teoscar Hernández and Alex Freeland are among those who have recently been under the weather. It’s a reality manager Dave Roberts believes the clubhouse bug has played somewhat of a role in the team’s recent struggles at the plate, via Bill Plunkett of the Southern California News Group.
“It is a factor. It’s the truth,” Dodgers manager Dave Roberts acknowledged when asked about the hacking and wheezing going on in his clubhouse – and in the lineup. “Freddie’s got it a little bit. Muncy’s gone through it. Teo’s gone through it, Freeland, a lot of different guys. Yeah, it’s gone through our clubhouse.
“Absolutely. I do think, as far as how the body feels, has been affected. It was since Colorado, so there is a line of demarcation where we really went south with the offense since Colorado. But for me, it’s hard for me to just leave it at that. I do think it’s a factor, but I still feel like we’ve still gotta find a way to be productive.”
The Dodgers’ offensive woes began during a four-game series against the Colorado Rockies at Coors Field last month, which brought unseasonable weather. Snow fell at the ballpark prior to the opening matchup, and first pitch came with a chilly 35-degree temperature.
L.A. then continued their road trip with a series against the San Francisco Giants at Oracle Park that brought plenty of rain to the Bay Area. The abrupt changes in climate unsurprisingly left several Dodgers players with a sickness, and it has led to a drop in offensive production.
Dodgers’ offensive struggles
The Dodgers are hitting just .229 as a team and have scored only 42 runs over their last 12 contests since leaving Coors Field. That stretch includes Sunday, when the Dodgers snapped their season-worst four-game losing streak and avoided being swept by the St. Louis Cardinals.
What does continue to ail the team is a lack of power. Entering the series opener against the Houston Astros, the Dodgers have gone six consecutive games without hitting a home run. It’s their longest such drought since going eight games without a homer in July 2014.
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