Dodgers hitters, fond of their bandbox Dodger Stadium home, are finding that hitting balls out of Globe Life Field in Arlington is a challenge, even for the best home run-hitting team in the Majors.
Balls hit in their 5-1 win in Game 1 of the National League Division Series on Tuesday by Max Muncy in the eighth inning (400 feet) and Corey Seager in the fifth (390 feet) likely would have sailed out of Dodger Stadium, but they were putouts in Arlington. Padres batters never really came close to reaching the fence.
Roberts said that the Dodgers playing their game, and not the ballpark, should win out.
“The goal is to hit the ball hard. Most of the time, you’ll get rewarded. At times last night, it didn’t happen,” Roberts said. “But I still think the idea of taking good at-bats and squaring up the baseball is the best way to go about it. Collectively, our guys all understand that.”
Roberts said that Dodgers pitchers feel the ballpark plays “perfect.”
“It’s fair both ways,” Roberts said. “I like the ballpark a lot.”
Taylor's selective approach paying off
Second baseman Chris Taylor had two of the Dodgers’ 10 walks in Game 1, a continuation of his dramatic improvement this season in the simple but challenging concept of taking balls and swinging at strikes.
According to research by MLB.com’s Andrew Simon, Taylor’s chase rate went from 26.5% last season to 17.3% in 2020. Among 259 players that saw at least 250 pitches out of the zone this year, Taylor ranked 17th in MLB, better than Mookie Betts or Justin Turner. Taylor ranked 84th in '19.
Even more impressive, Taylor has been more selective against pitches out of the zone while being more aggressive against pitches in the zone, steadily increasing those swings from 68.1% in 2017 to 73% this season.
How, and why?
“That’s probably a byproduct of my mechanics being in a good place and allowing myself more time to see the ball,” Taylor said. “Maybe in previous years, when you’re constantly getting beat by velocity or swinging and missing at fastballs, it makes you want to cheat a little bit with the heater, and that’s when you’re vulnerable to the offspeed pitches.
“So, I think this year I’ve just cleaned up my mechanics a little bit and I feel like I’ve been in a really good place where I don’t have to think about my mechanics when I’m hitting and able to see the ball better.”
Game 3 starter TBD
Roberts said he would make the decision on a Game 3 starting pitcher on Thursday, hours before game time.
One likely starter in this series or the NL Championship Series, if they advance, is Dustin May, whose two perfect innings of relief in Game 1 served as a bullpen session for a start to come. Roberts conceded it is “tantalizing” to consider May as a wipeout reliever for multiple appearances and, in fact, he didn’t rule it out.
“You see that he can do both and what he can do against a part of a lineup in a short burst, in leverage, obviously has a whole lot of value,” Roberts said. “But I think the versatility of a Dustin adds to his value.”