LOS ANGELES — The Dodgers are facing Milwaukee Brewers Jacob Misiorowski, who has been the best pitcher in baseball this season, the toughest right-hander in the game who throws 105 mph. But in the corner outfielders the Dodgers on Saturday are starting a pair of right-handed hitters Teoscar Hernández and Alex Call.
Hernández has slumped so badly that manager Dave Roberts said this week he would probably sit him more against right-handers. Call barely plays at all, so any start he gets his news. Left-handed batter Kyle Tucker is not in the lineup, not necessarily for matchup reasons, but for the simple reason that he hasn’t hit a lick at Dodger Stadium this season.
Tucker is hitting a execrable .192/.270/.276 with a 62 wRC+ at home this season. His batted ball numbers at Dodger Stadium are a little better — .241 expected batting average and .329 expected slugging percentage — but still bad.
“For Kyle, being at home right now, I see the frustration,” Roberts said. “I felt for him to kind of use today as a work day, then he’ll be back in there tomorrow, and he’ll play all three in Denver.”
Saturday is day nine of 13 game days in a row for the Dodgers, and every regular position player has been rested at least once during this stretch already, save for center fielder Andy Pages. Tucker already didn’t start on Monday at home, though he walked as a pinch-hitter in the sixth inning and scored on Max Muncy’s three-run double.
Tucker only has five hits in his last 50 at-bats at Dodger Stadium, a 16-game stretch dating back to July 7. His last extra-base hit was on July 10, with 48 plate appearances since. His last RBI came on July 8, 51 PA ago. And Tucker hasn’t homered at home since a two-run shot off Nick Martinez of the Tampa Bay Rays on June 16, exactly 100 plate appearances ago.
When the Dodgers are on the road, Tucker is hitting .275/.371/.469 with a 131 wRC+, right in line with Tucker’s overall career line of .268/.355/.489 with a 133 wRC+, the very player they signed to a whopping four-year, $240 million contract in February, setting a record for highest average annual value for competitive balance tax purposes ($57.2 million).
“I don’t think he even realized it until recently when people brought it to light. But the fact is the split are stark, home and road,” Roberts said. “I don’t think we have a reason behind it. I wouldn’t say he’s fixated on it, but certainly he’s conscious of it.”