Kyle Tucker is making some promising progress, but Dodgers fans will need to temper their expectations a bit.
Los Angeles Dodgers fans must have thought they were dreaming on Friday night. After all, taking a look at the box score of their 6-2 win over the Miami Marlins would show that Kyle Tucker, the man who went through an 0-26 stretch earlier in the season, went 3-3 from the plate and drove in five runs after he hit his first grand slam with the team since signing a four-year, $240 million contract this past offseason.
But Dodgers fans better believe that this is real. Tucker’s form is picking up as of late, and he’s gone 6-8 from the plate over his last two contests. This is a promising sign for the 29-year-old right fielder who’s battled through a plethora of issues in his first season in LA.
However, much like Tucker is doing, Dodgers fans are better off holding their excitement over what seems to be a very promising turnaround for the 29-year-old. For starters, his hot streak has been running for a mere two games. Sure, he went perfect from the plate on Friday and basically gave LA the victory. But that doesn’t erase the previous months where he’s struggled from the plate.
He entered the night with an OPS of .684, and while his big night raised his OPS to .701 on the year, this is still well below the standard he’s set for himself in his past seven full seasons in the big leagues.
Moreover, this big game from Tucker came on the road. His struggles this year have notably come at home, and the disparity in his home/road splits remains quite concerning.
In 72 games at home this season (246 at-bats), Tucker has a dreadful OPS of .572. This level of play is simply unacceptable from him when half his games are at Dodger Stadium. Meanwhile, on the road, he has an OPS of .842, which is more along the consistent level of play he’s displayed throughout his pre-Dodgers MLB career (.865 OPS).
Tucker could very well be back, and the Dodgers need him to be as productive as he was on Friday more often especially with Shohei Ohtani currently on the injured list. But everyone needs to temper their expectations moving forward unless he strings together more of this sort of performances.
Los Angeles Dodgers fans must have thought they were dreaming on Friday night. After all, taking a look at the box score of their 6-2 win over the Miami Marlins would show that Kyle Tucker, the man who went through an 0-26 stretch earlier in the season, went 3-3 from the plate and drove in five runs after he hit his first grand slam with the team since signing a four-year, $240 million contract this past offseason.