Dodgers Players, Coaches Praise Offensive Approach, ‘We’re Never Really Out of a Game’
The 2022 Dodgers’ offense was historically good, scoring an incredible 5.2 runs per game across the 162-game season. Through two months of this season, the 2023 Dodgers’ offense has been even better.
Through the first 56 games of the season, the Dodgers have scored 316 runs, averaging out to 5.6 runs per game. So despite the key losses in the lineup including Trea Turner, Justin Turner and Cody Bellinger, this year, the Dodgers are statistically better.
The Dodgers didn’t make any splashy additions this offseason, and instead saved up their money for a run at Shohei Ohtani next offseason. The additions they did make, however, have made a huge impact on the team, both in the numbers and in the veteran presences they’ve provided.
“These guys bring a different kind of energy,” Dodgers hitting coach Aaron Bates said to Jack Harris of the LA Times about the Dodgers veteran additions. “They’re just professional hitters up and down. We’re never really out of a game.”
J.D. Martinez, one of those veteran additions who’s coming off a dominant month of May, seconded Bates’ sentiment.
“I’ve been saying it all year, this is a really good offense,” Martinez said to Harris. “It’s deep. Guys that don’t give away at-bats, don’t give away outs. It just seems like, it doesn’t matter how far out of reach the game might feel. Our offense is dangerous.”
The Dodgers already have 16 comeback wins this season, and many of them have come when the team already felt out of the game. However, the team has consistently put one good at-bat together after another, leading to some pretty big innings that have helped them claw their way back into games.
“In general, it’s a never-quit type of group,” Bates said. “That’s what’s really exciting about our offense.”
This is the exact type of offense you need come postseason time, one that never feels out of a game no matter the deficit and no matter the inning.
Last year, despite the Dodgers having an offense as good as any in history, they didn’t have the same fight. When the team went down in games two, three and four in the NLDS to the Padres, it felt like they were going to lose.
They lacked toughness and grittiness, which led to the huge disappointment come postseason time.
This year, though, things feel different. Between Martinez, Jason Heyward, David Peralta and Miguel Rojas, there are tons of new veteran voices in the Dodgers clubhouse. And these are voices who not only have tons of experience in the postseason, but guys who are hungry to get back and do some damage this season.
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