Los Angeles Dodgers manager Dave Roberts dismissed concern around his lineup’s left-handed batters, who are off to a rocky start to 2026.
Shohei Ohtani, Kyle Tucker and Freddie Freeman—all of whom are left-handers and have played every game this season—are a combined 8-for-43 through the first four games of the new campaign, and the reigning MVP is yet to hit anything other than a single.
Despite their rough few games, Roberts insisted the trio of stars will come through as the season progresses following LA’s loss to the Cleveland Guardians on Monday.
“I am surprised that they got off to a slow start, but you just never really know,” Roberts said, per the Orange County Register‘s Bill Plunkett. “Spring training is just not predictive. It’s just not. I think for me, the takeaway is we’re 3-1 and the guys that we expect to swing the bats aren’t swinging the bats right now. So that’s a good thing. They’ll hit.”
These Dodgers aren’t exactly at an advantage so far this season either, as they’ve been forced into poor matchups with half of their games so far coming against left-handed starters. On top of that, the sample size is far too small to draw any meaningful conclusions.
As far as matchups are concerned, left-handers in LA’s lineup will have a much easier time over the next couple days. The Cleveland Guardians will start two right handers to close the series in LA, with Tanner Bibee toeing the rubber Tuesday and Gavin Williams taking the bump Wednesday.
Who has Stepped Up for the Dodgers During Their Rough Patch?
While some of the Dodgers’ bigger stars have struggled in the early season, others in the lineup have thrived.
Will Smith picked up where he left off with the Dodgers, and leads the team with two home runs and five RBIs this season. Andy Pages has also looked good, hitting a home run and driving in three RBIs.
Mookie Betts is also off to a much better start to the year compared to last season, hitting a homer and driving in five runs so far this season.
The Dodgers have still gotten the job done despite the lack of production from the top of the order, and will have a much easier time winning games when their stars begin producing as expected.
Are you worried by the Dodgers’ left-handers’ early-season “slump”?
