SAN DIEGO – Shohei Ohtani has really been a hard act to follow.
Going into Saturday’s game, the Dodgers’ No. 2 hitters have been among MLB’s least productive group in that spot. They have hit a collective .215 (26th in MLB) with a .281 on-base percentage and .326 slugging percentage that rank 29th, combining for a .607 OPS tied with the Chicago Cubs’ No. 2 hitters for the worst in baseball.
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“I don’t know that answer,” Dodgers manager Dave Roberts said when asked for a theory on what has turned that spot in the Dodgers’ lineup into a black hole. “I’d like to say it’s not the thought of hitting behind Shohei. But when you see a guy in the batter’s box and you’re on deck and you see special things, I guess it’s hard to have that not affect your psyche.
“I don’t have the answer. Somebody’s got to hit second.”
Andy Pages has done it the most now. Saturday was his 27th start batting second and he has slipped into a slump since moving there – a .196 average and .588 OPS in 25 games before Saturday.
Kyle Tucker and Mookie Betts set the tone, though. Tucker made 21 starts in the No. 2 spot and hit .238 with a .663 OPS. Betts was in the midst of a miserable start when he made 11 starts as the No. 2 hitter and went 7 for 47 (.149) there.
Even Freddie Freeman was not immune to the 2-hole trouble. He hit just .213 in 20 starts at that spot in the lineup – .313 everywhere else.
Whether it was a factor or just coincidental timing, Betts’ bat has come to life since moving to fourth in the order. He hit .291 with an .869 OPS in his first 26 starts there. And Roberts has no plans to move Betts back.
“I like him where he’s at,” he said.
“The truth is once he moved down to 4 he did get going. I don’t know the psychology behind it for him. … But the facts are he started swinging better.”
BUEHLER’S DAY
Before Walker Buehler started against his former team on Friday, Roberts said he knew Buehler “badly” wanted to beat the Dodgers.
“Doc is not wrong,” Buehler said after the game – a 7-1 win during which he allowed just one run on three hits in 5⅓ innings.
But Buehler emphasized there was “no bad blood” between him and the Dodgers since he left as a free agent following the 2024 season.
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“They treated me very well for a long time and I think in some way I did to them as well,” Buehler said. “And my last pitch there was the last out of a World Series. I don’t really know how else I would have gone out any better than that. And so, yeah, I want to kick everyone’s (behind). I want to beat everyone, especially in the division, and especially a team that has been so successful against the organization I’m with now.
“I want to be a part of turning that around, and I certainly don’t want to lose to them.”
Buehler made one start against the Dodgers during his time with the Boston Red Sox last year. That was at Fenway Park. He has yet to pitch at Dodger Stadium as the opponent – something which could happen next weekend when the Padres play a four-game series there.
“I think the first one in Boston was a lot bigger emotional kind of load, for lack of a better word,” he said. “It’s a team in our division. I’m going to have to pitch against them. It was good to get the first one in this uniform at home, and we’ll see what kind of happens on the road.
“I haven’t thrown at Dodger Stadium yet, which will be kind of a different thing. But nice to have kind of something to fall back on a little bit in terms of having some success.”
COMING SOON
Teoscar Hernandez hit a home run in each of his first three rehab games with Triple-A Oklahoma City. He was scheduled to play again in left field on Saturday then likely take Sunday off and join the Dodgers in Sacramento on Monday to be activated from the Injured List. He has been out since suffering a hamstring injury on May 27.
Meanwhile, Evan Phillips is nearing the end of his rehab assignment. He has made seven appearances for OKC, allowing two runs on eight hits while striking out seven in 7⅓ innings.
UP NEXT
Dodgers (RHP Emmet Sheehan 3-5, 5.32) at Padres (RHP Michael King, 5-6, 3.33), Sunday, 1:10 p.m., SportsNet LA, 570 AM
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