LOS ANGELES -- As those around the Dodgers have gotten to know Kyle Tucker, they've learned not to expect any big displays of emotion from their right fielder.
Whether he's swinging it well or searching at the plate, the same version of Tucker shows up to the ballpark every day. And even after he had his biggest moment yet in Dodger blue, it could have been just a regular day at the yard.
Tucker completed the Dodgers' comeback after an uncharacteristic start from Yoshinobu Yamamoto, walking off the Marlins with a two-run single that secured a 5-4 victory in Monday night's series opener at Dodger Stadium.
"It was great. He needed it. He needed a win," manager Dave Roberts said. "And he's been grinding and trying to find some success and some good fortune. Big spot right there, walk-off at home. So that was great. To see everybody go out and greet him and celebrate him was fun to watch this game."
After Tucker knocked the game-winning hit off Marlins right-hander Tyler Phillips up the middle, his reaction to coming through, down to his team's last out, was rather muted. He touched the first-base bag and paused, taking in the scene. Then his Dodgers teammates rushed over to congratulate him, and Freddie Freeman enveloped him in a hug.
"It wasn’t quite loud yet until we actually ended up winning the game there and Sho scored," Tucker said. "So I was like, ‘Did I get the score wrong?’ But afterwards I saw everyone running out and it got loud and everything, so I was like, ‘OK, sweet, this is sick.'"
Said Roberts, bemusedly: "Did he smile?"
Tucker, indeed, was grinning from ear to ear as he high-fived his teammates after they pulled off a rally that secured their 20th win of the season.
Marlins closer Pete Fairbanks walked back-to-back hitters to open the bottom of the ninth. Shohei Ohtani, who already had a pair of base hits in the contest, came to the plate after nine-hole hitter Miguel Rojas bunt popped out to the catcher.
Ohtani fouled off his first two pitches, then took two, before slicing a double to right field that skipped over the wall. That drove in one run and put the tying and winning runs in scoring position. Fairbanks followed by throwing three straight balls to Freeman before intentionally walking the Dodgers' first baseman. Fairbanks then exited with hand numbness, pressing Phillips into duty.
Will Smith struck out on a foul tip, bringing Tucker up with two outs. Tucker got two straight splitters from Phillips, slapping the second one into the outfield to get the job done.
"First pitch … I fouled off. I thought I saw a decent amount, just didn’t put the best swing on it," Tucker said. "Kind of the same thing next pitch. I was able to kind of sit through it more, just knock up the middle with it."
Tucker began the year as the Dodgers' No. 2 hitter, but his early scuffles at the plate led the team to swap him and Freeman in the order last Thursday, dropping Tucker to the cleanup spot against right-handers and the five-hole vs. certain left-handers.
In the handful of games since then, Tucker's at-bat quality has improved. He still hasn't quite gotten hot, but he's tried to stick to his approach as he finds his swing.
"It’s tough sometimes, just because you don’t see the results right away or anything," Tucker said. "But you just kinda stick to it and try to get as much quality contact as you can and wait for them to drop."
When Tucker was moved down in the order, Roberts hoped that it would allow the game to "come to him a little bit slower." The manager believes that Tucker has benefited from that over the past several days, and it's only a matter of time until Tucker starts performing like the consensus top free agent who signed a four-year, $240 million deal with the Dodgers this past offseason.
The next time Tucker has a big moment for the Dodgers, perhaps he'll even show a little more emotion, too.
"I think he'll start to loosen up as time goes on, I do," Roberts said. "I think even Shohei, when he first got here, was a little bit more reserved compared to where he's at now. I do think that guys are working on him, and I think he'll loosen up and won't lose that edge that he has."