DENVER \u2014 The mystery continues.<\/p>\n
<\/p>\n
After\u00a0a hot two weeks following his return from a fractured toe, Mookie Betts has slipped back into another slump. Going into Tuesday night\u2019s game at Coors Field, Betts was 6 for 37 (.162) over his previous 10 games.<\/p>\n
Betts was 2 for 5 Tuesday, his first multi-hit game since June 7. But still, his .257 average, .339 on-base percentage and .394 slugging percentage would all be career-lows for the perennial All-Star.\u00a0He has never posted an OPS under .800 in his career\u00a0but is sitting at .733.<\/p>\n
\u201cI am. I think we all are,\u201d Dodgers manager Dave Roberts said when asked if he is surprised Betts has not found his way back to his career levels. \u201cNone more surprised than Mookie himself.<\/p>\n
\u201cBut he\u2019s playing great shortstop, a premium position. He\u2019s doing it at short. So I just feel that the bat is gonna come back to life.\u201d<\/em><\/p>\n Betts\u2019 defense at this new position has indeed taken a significant step forward this season. Is it more than coincidental that it seems to be taking away from his offensive game?<\/p>\n \u201cI\u2019m gonna hold to no,\u201d Roberts said. \u201cI think it\u2019s a fair debate. But all I can go with is what Mookie is saying, as far as the separation of the hitting to the defense, the comfort level with the defense. There\u2019s no anxiety. The confidence he has with the defense. And where he is stronger than he has been in quite some time, as far as physicalness, healthy.<\/em><\/p>\n \u201cSo I don\u2019t think there\u2019s a correlation.\u201d<\/em><\/p>\n Betts doesn\u2019t either but he hedges a little, admitting he doesn\u2019t know for sure.<\/p>\n \u201cIt\u2019s been really tough. But it kind of is what it is,\u201d he said after going 2 for 5 on Tuesday night. \u201cI\u2019ve never played short every day, but I don\u2019t think that\u2019s really playing a part. Being sick and just kind of playing catchup \u2013 there\u2019s a lot of variables that go into it, but you got to figure it out.\u201d<\/em><\/p>\n The dropoff has been most notable in his lack of power. Betts\u2019 career slugging percentage is .517, but he has just 10 doubles, a triple and nine home runs this season. The former American League MVP hasn\u2019t hit a home run since June 8, 61 plate appearances ago.<\/p>\n \u201cI think it\u2019s the lack of hitting the ball on the barrel,\u201d Roberts said. \u201cIt\u2019s hard to have power when you haven\u2019t been on the barrel. So that\u2019s what\u2019s happening right now. He\u2019s a guy that knows how to find the barrel. There\u2019s times that he\u2019s chasing a little bit more than he usually does. And then there\u2019s a lot more pop-ups than typical.<\/em><\/p>\n \u201cTo get power, you gotta find the barrel. That\u2019s what we\u2019re trying to do.\u201d<\/em><\/p>\n StatCast shows Betts\u2019 barrel percentage at 5.6%, his lowest since 2017 and his hard-hit percentage at a career-low 34.8%. Betts has attributed it to \u201cbad habits\u201d he got into while trying to generate bat speed early in the season,\u00a0when a virus caused him to lose significant weight.<\/p>\n \u201cI think some of it is pitch selection,\u201d Roberts said. \u201cSome of it is mechanics where you just don\u2019t know where the barrel is. But again, things with hitting can change in an at-bat. You take one at-bat and something clicks and this conversation is no longer. There\u2019s a lot of different variables that lead to not consistently finding the barrel.\u201d<\/em><\/p>\n Roberts said he would not be dropping Betts from the No. 2 position in the Dodgers\u2019 lineup.<\/p>\n Shohei Ohtani\u2019s next pitching assignment\u00a0is expected to be Saturday in Kansas City but Roberts would not confirm that.<\/p>\n \u201cI have to make sure I keep it open-ended,\u201d Roberts said with a smile.<\/p>\n In the meantime, Ohtani leads all National League players in votes for the All-Star Game. If he still holds that distinction at the end of Phase One of the voting on Thursday, he will get an automatic spot in the National League All-Star starting lineup.<\/p>\n \u201cThat\u2019s great,\u201d Roberts said of Ohtani leading all NL players in votes. \u201cThe fans love him. He\u2019s the best player. It\u2019s going to be exciting for the fans to watch him in Atlanta for the All-Star Game.\u201d<\/em><\/p>\n Roberts would not weigh in on whether the fans will see him in the Home Run Derby in Atlanta.<\/p>\n \u201cThat is a question for Shohei,\u201d he said. \u201cI\u2019m staying out of that.\u201d<\/p>\n As the manager of the NL stars, though, will Roberts ask Ohtani to pitch?<\/p>\n \u201cNo,\u201d Roberts said quickly.<\/p>\n But will he bat leadoff?<\/p>\n \u201cYes,\u201d he said just as quickly.<\/p>\n The Dodgers arrived in Colorado in the midst of 12 consecutive games against teams with losing records, including six against the two worst teams in baseball \u2013 the historically bad Colorado Rockies (18-60 coming in) and the Chicago White Sox (25-54).<\/p>\n It\u2019s quite a drop\u00a0from the stretch of 10 games against their division rivals\u00a0(the San Diego Padres and San Francisco Giants) that capped 29 consecutive games against teams with winning records.<\/p>\n \u201cIt\u2019s the truth \u2013 you need to beat the teams you\u2019re supposed to beat. That\u2019s just the way it is,\u201d Roberts said.<\/p>\n He dismissed the idea that there could be a letdown facing the Rockies.<\/p>\n \u201cI\u2019d be shocked,\u201d he said. \u201cWe\u2019re not going to have a letdown. We might get beat. But it won\u2019t be because we let down. We\u2019re going to play hard.\u201d<\/em><\/p>\n After pitching a scoreless inning for Class-A Rancho Cucamonga on a rehab assignment, right-hander Luis Garcia joined the Dodgers in Colorado. Roberts indicated Garcia will be activated from the injured list at some point this week. He has been out since May 27 with a groin muscle injury.<\/p>\n DENVER \u2014 The mystery continues. After\u00a0a hot two weeks following his return from a fractured toe, Mookie Betts has slipped back into another slump. Going into… <\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":2,"featured_media":72991,"comment_status":"closed","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[3],"tags":[],"class_list":["post-72990","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-mlb"],"yoast_head":"\nOHTANI TALK<\/h4>\n
CELLAR TOUR<\/h4>\n
ALSO<\/h4>\n
UP NEXT<\/h4>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"