Los Angeles Dodgers manager Dave Roberts revealed he will remain patient with center fielder Andy Pages despite his subpar performances in the postseason over the past two years.
Pages played in 16 of the Dodgers’ games last postseason, but provided minimal value with a bat throughout their World Series run. He had just four hits through 55 plate appearances for a .078 batting average and a .211 OPS over the course of October.
His sample size is much smaller through the first two games of the 2026 postseason, but he’s hitless through two games with four strikeouts. Roberts isn’t ready to quit on Pages just yet despite his slow start, but said things need to change soon.
“I’m gonna continue to give Andy leash,” Roberts said Monday. “I believe in him. I feel that for us to win the World Series this year we’re going to need him to be an active part of out team. I hope it doesn’t get to that point. We’re not there yet. …Tomorrow isn’t going to be the end all be all, but I still want to see some good at-bats.”
The Dodgers have already limited Pages’ freedom at the plate, as they instructed him not to challenge pitches following a lost challenge in Game 1 of the series.
Why is Andy Pages Struggling?
A number of factors are playing into Pages’ struggles, but the biggest of the bunch is his plate discipline.
Pages struck out in half of his plate appearances across the first two games of the series, and his 36.4% whiff rate in the postseason so far is far higher than his mark during the regular season. Pages’ struggles aren’t due to a lack of quality in Roberts’ eyes, though, as the All-Star performed well following his return from the injured list.
Roberts believes the outfielder is simply trying too hard.
“I think there’s trying to do too much. When he came back, he was swinging the bat very well, had success, and now I think there’s a little bit of trying to much.”
The Dodgers will hope Pages settles in before the end of the series, preferably in the third game of the NLDS on Tuesday. Yoshinobu Yamamoto will get the ball for LA, while they will take their first at-bats against Chris Sale at 3:00 p.m. PT.
