{"id":673331,"date":"2026-05-15T20:50:15","date_gmt":"2026-05-15T20:50:15","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/au\/673331\/"},"modified":"2026-05-15T20:50:15","modified_gmt":"2026-05-15T20:50:15","slug":"dodger-details-offense-is-getting-there-even-after-an-ugly-homestand","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/au\/673331\/","title":{"rendered":"Dodger Details: Offense is \u2018getting there,\u2019 even after an ugly homestand"},"content":{"rendered":"

LOS ANGELES \u2014 Dave Roberts wanted to give his designated hitter a day off, so he didn\u2019t see Shohei Ohtani until around 4 p.m. PT on Thursday. A complete day off is a rarity for Ohtani, who, until this week, had not missed consecutive days<\/a> in the lineup due to rest since becoming a Los Angeles Dodger.<\/p>\n

\u201cI think he had a good spa day,\u201d Roberts said.<\/p>\n

Not having even a scuffling Ohtani or Mookie Betts is hardly a remedy for a \u201cclogged up\u201d offense. Still, Roberts was curious to see what the rest of the group could provide. Maybe it would spark something, he figured.<\/p>\n

Then Will Smith, his leadoff hitter and designated hitter for the day, started the game with a home run. The backed-up Dodgers offense erupted again in the middle innings. A 5-2 win over the San Francisco Giants felt cathartic at the end of a frustrating homestand, where Los Angeles lost a series to the Atlanta Braves and split a series against a Giants team that entered eight games below .500.<\/p>\n

Thursday marked the Dodgers\u2019 highest run total in more than a week.<\/p>\n

The offense is not fixed, but there are positive signs. They hit the ball over the fence. They built innings. This time, they made the most of them. Alex Call came off the bench and smacked a Matt Gage fastball into right field for a two-run single to take the lead in the sixth inning. Call didn\u2019t even realize he had a hit at first, darting his head around before he found the baseball.<\/p>\n

\u201cSometimes you hit the ball, and you don\u2019t know where it is, but it finds some grass,\u201d Call said.<\/p>\n

Miguel Rojas, who didn\u2019t have a hit in two weeks before Wednesday, saw nine pitches from Gage before scooping the 10th pitch of the at-bat into center for a run-scoring single.<\/p>\n

There are good feelings to go around.<\/p>\n

\u201cGetting there,\u201d Roberts said. \u201cI think there\u2019s still more in there offensively. But I think we\u2019re getting there.\u201d<\/p>\n

That includes Smith, who had not hit a home run since April 24 and had just one since March 28. It includes Hyeseong Kim, who had his best swing in a week when he lined a base hit in the second inning that expanded the Dodgers\u2019 early lead. Same for Kyle Tucker, who went hitless Thursday but entered the day hitting .312 (12-for-38) with a .990 OPS since the calendar flipped to May.<\/p>\n

\u201cI see it once in a while where I think he\u2019s locked in, got his legs under him,\u201d Roberts said.<\/p>\n

What does that look like?<\/p>\n

\u201cIt\u2019s a hyper-controlled strike zone. You have to get him out in the strike zone, which a lot of pitchers don\u2019t have the ability to do. Values the walk. He\u2019s a doubles machine. I think the last couple weeks, we\u2019ve seen that.\u201d<\/p>\n

The good feelings also extend to Ohtani, who said Wednesday night he felt he found something in his swing the night prior. Be it his second on-field batting practice session in a week or something he tweaked Tuesday, Ohtani has sorted through a lot of what he called \u201ctrial and error\u201d in his swing. It was notable that Tuesday\u2019s home run, his first in 52 plate appearances, was hit the other way against a sinker on the outer half of the plate. That is Ohtani when his swing is right.<\/p>\n

Ohtani was laughing in the ninth inning Thursday. After all, Smith was fitting eight pieces of gum into the hood of Yoshinobu Yamamoto\u2019s sweatshirt next to him. Roberts hoped that Ohtani would not only relax but also spend his usual pregame time hammering home the adjustment he found this week. Time will tell if it sticks.<\/p>\n

\u201cReally drill it in in terms of what I found the other day,\u201d Ohtani said through interpreter Will Ireton. \u201cTomorrow\u2019s a day for me to work on that and make sure that that\u2019s really my body, and to make sure that I can do that during a game.\u201d<\/p>\n

Not everything is fixed for the Dodgers\u2019 offense. There are gripes and frustrations to be had, even on a good day like Thursday.<\/p>\n

When the Dodgers looked to expand their early lead in the second inning, Rojas bunted. The safety squeeze might have worked, had Rojas not bunted the ball right back to pitcher Landon Roupp and hung Teoscar Hern\u00e1ndez out to dry between third base and home. When Smith struck out to end the inning, Rojas slammed his helmet at first base.<\/p>\n

Dalton Rushing, for his red-hot April, has cooled off in May. When he struck out looking and lost a challenge in the second inning, he shook his head. When he struck out on a Roupp curveball with a runner on second in the fourth, he snapped his bat over his knee and had to be consoled between innings by his batterymate and starter, Emmet Sheehan.<\/p>\n

Rushing struck out again with runners on second and third in the sixth, bashing himself on the helmet as he walked back to the dugout and letting out a scream that elicited some chuckles in the dugout. When Rushing finally drew a walk his last time up, he set the bat down and put his hands up in relief. Rushing is not one to hide his emotions<\/a>, and Thursday was no different.<\/p>\n

Then there\u2019s Hern\u00e1ndez, who experienced both ends of the spectrum Thursday night.<\/p>\n

The Dodgers and Roberts have talked up Hern\u00e1ndez\u2019s strides defensively since moving back to left field this season. If you believe in defensive advanced metrics, the numbers back it up. He\u2019s been flat average at 0 Outs Above Average, according to Baseball Savant, which is an improvement. He\u2019s been a positive at 1 Defensive Runs Saved.<\/p>\n

Hern\u00e1ndez is still liable to commit a gaffe like the one he made in the fifth inning. Jung Hoo Lee sliced a Sheehan fastball down the left field line, spinning away from where Hern\u00e1ndez was slightly shaded towards the gap. The spinning ball stayed fair, and Hern\u00e1ndez slowed up, assuming it would bounce into the seats for a double. Instead, it kicked off the angled wall and into the corner. Lee was already halfway to third base on what would be a two-run, inside-the-park home run by the time Hern\u00e1ndez even got to the ball.<\/p>\n

Jung Hoo Lee hits his first @MLB<\/a> inside-the-park home run pic.twitter.com\/ODXgWrFiTo<\/a><\/p>\n

\u2014 SFGiants (@SFGiants) May 15, 2026<\/a><\/p>\n

Hern\u00e1ndez, who made a quick exit from the clubhouse postgame, said he expected the ball to kick out of play.<\/p>\n

\u201cBut it wasn\u2019t the case,\u201d Hern\u00e1ndez said. \u201cIt just barely touched together with the wall, and unfortunately, the ball stayed in the ballpark.\u201d<\/p>\n

Sheehan didn\u2019t implode. After a quick visit from pitching coach Mark Prior, Sheehan got Luis Arraez to fly out to end the inning. Hern\u00e1ndez found Sheehan in the dugout between innings to apologize. It wound up being the only Giants offense of the night, a relative afterthought on a good night.<\/p>\n

\u201cIt was just a play that we\u2019d love to have back,\u201d Roberts said.<\/p>\n

The Dodgers have lived with Hern\u00e1ndez\u2019s defensive shortcomings because his bat has often made up for it. However, Hern\u00e1ndez\u2019s prolonged offensive slump to start the season lasted long enough that, earlier this homestand, Roberts dropped him to the eighth spot in the order.<\/p>\n

Maybe things are coming around for him. Hern\u00e1ndez doubled in the second inning, showcasing some of the opposite-field power he flexes when he\u2019s at his best. In his next at-bat, he waited on a Roupp curveball and doubled to left. An inning after his defensive flub, Hern\u00e1ndez connected on another breaking ball, lining a base hit to left and hustling in to second base to set up what would be Call\u2019s go-ahead hit.<\/p>\n

\u201cWhen I make those mental mistakes, I try not to think about it,\u201d Hern\u00e1ndez said. \u201cJust move on right away. Because I know it can affect me for the rest of the game.\u201d<\/p>\n

He\u2019s started doing that more often. While much of the Dodgers\u2019 offense sputtered on this homestand, Hern\u00e1ndez went 9-for-20 with three doubles. His swing, he said, has been \u201cfeeling really good.\u201d Given the lack of production the team has gotten from most of their right-handed hitters not named Andy Pages, it\u2019s a welcome sight.<\/p>\n

Sheehan threw Lee a 95.2 mph fastball on the pitch before Hern\u00e1ndez\u2019s gaffe. That was notable. Entering Tuesday, Sheehan had thrown just eight fastballs all season in the fifth inning or later that were at least 95 mph.<\/p>\n

The right-hander has struggled to maintain his velocity this season, a perplexing trend largely stemming from an inconsistency in his mechanics.<\/p>\n

\u201cIt\u2019s definitely nice to have that later in starts,\u201d Sheehan said. \u201cIt\u2019s pretty important to maintain it.\u201d<\/p>\n

Correcting this has been difficult. The Dodgers have sorted through different mental cues to try to line things up. They have to be cautious with this. One tweak could spring a leak somewhere else, or perhaps flare up some of the issues Sheehan had last October when he was tipping his pitches.<\/p>\n

This week, strength coach Eric Yavarone suggested that Sheehan do some exercises with a medicine ball between innings to reinforce the things he needs to do in his delivery to keep him directed toward home plate rather than falling off to the first-base side when he finishes a pitch.<\/p>\n

Maybe it helped. Maybe this will continue to be a moving target. Sheehan\u2019s eight starts are enough of a sample to show that, whether he can get this corrected or not, he will have to figure out how to use the stuff he\u2019s got.<\/p>\n

Thursday was a good example of it. Even with the two runs that scored on Hern\u00e1ndez\u2019s defensive mistake, Sheehan turned in one of the best starts of his season. He went six innings, saw some improved fastball velocity (94.8 mph, up from 94.1 mph) and used the pitch to generate 10 swings and misses. The locations and misses were better.<\/p>\n

He looked a lot like the version of Sheehan who had a 2.82 ERA in 73 1\/3 innings a year ago.<\/p>\n

\u201cIt seems like every time he\u2019s been going out there, he\u2019s getting better,\u201d Roberts said.<\/p>\n