DENVER -- Shohei Ohtani is such a force atop the Dodgers' lineup that even a brief downtick in production feels noticeable. The standard for Ohtani is higher than it would be for many others, but he's made a little less noise at the plate in June coming off a red-hot May that netted him NL Player of the Month honors.
After hitting his NL-leading 27th homer of the season in Tuesday's series-opening 9-7 win over the Rockies, Ohtani has now gone yard in back-to-back games. While Ohtani supplied plenty of his own power to go the other way with his two-run blast in the sixth inning, he may have gotten an additional boost from the hitter-friendly conditions at Coors Field.
Several other Dodgers could benefit from this week's getaway to the Rockies' home ballpark -- and the series opener was a good start.
“There’s definitely a lot of hits out there. It’s a huge outfield," Michael Conforto said. "Obviously, the ball flies a little bit better here. Games always seem to be crazy, high-scoring games. You just want to put as many runs up as you can, because anything can happen in the late innings, that’s for sure. So it’s definitely a good place to play offense.”
Conforto and Mookie Betts each notched a pair of hits, while Freddie Freeman was left searching after going 0-for-5. All three are looking to get on track at the plate, which doesn't happen overnight. But taking advantage of hitting at Coors Field is a good place to start.
Conforto had one of the biggest knocks of the game, a go-ahead three-run blast in the Dodgers' six-run fourth inning. The veteran outfielder entered the day with 13 RBIs, and Tuesday marked the first time this season that he drove in multiple runs in one game.
While Conforto has shown the occasional encouraging sign, he has yet to put it all together over an extended period of time. His .588 OPS ranks last among qualified Dodgers hitters, giving the Dodgers a clear area of need in the lineup with the Trade Deadline looming on July 31.
"I think he's trending in the right direction," manager Dave Roberts said. "But we're going to continue to look and figure out ways we can get better as a ballclub as we do get closer to the Deadline. I hope that's not in his kind of mindset. Just continue to get better each night. But it's important for him to continue playing well."
Betts, meanwhile, had his first multihit game since June 7. He hit .167 in 14 games between then and Tuesday. While he has still been an above-average hitter, he entered the day with a 106 OPS+, the lowest mark of his career.
It has not been an easy season for Betts, who lost nearly 20 pounds early in the year due to an illness and fractured a toe at the end of May. Both he and Roberts have denied that his positional change to shortstop has had anything to do with his offensive dropoff at the plate.
"I've had a couple good games and then a week's worth of bad games. I'm trying to figure it out," Betts said. "I'm doing my best to try and figure it out. I just make sure I continue to play defense, do what I can to help the boys win."
Freeman has another two games to try to take advantage of Coors Field. He recently said his swing hasn't felt good for the past six weeks, since the Dodgers wrapped a four-game series against the D-backs. His batting average has fallen from .376 on May 11 to .315 at the conclusion of the opener in Denver.
"The swing’s still in Arizona, I think," Freeman said over the weekend.
Betts and Freeman, along with Ohtani, are not the only key cogs in the Dodgers' lineup. But when they're on, they set the tone at the top of the order. Roberts believes it's only a matter of time before both are performing more like their usual selves.
"With Freddie," Roberts said, "I have seen some signs where he’s hit some balls hard and hasn’t gotten anything to show for it. That’s discouraging for him. But I just know he’s going to find his way out of it. I think with Mookie, I’ve seen some signs that he’s going to find his way out, as well. … Getting on the road, I think, is going to lend itself to a little bit more offense.”