Kyle Tucker's rough first season with the Dodgers might have hit its nadir. At least, that's what Tucker and the Dodgers are hoping. He just went an entire homestand without a hit -- he was 0 for 19 in the seven-gamer, though he only played in six after sitting on Saturday.
He was also booed after not catching a perfectly catchable fly ball in Sunday's finale against the Brewers. Fans booed Kyle Tucker after he failed to make this catch in right field.Tucker went hitless on the Dodgers' seven-game homestand. pic.twitter.com/oS7qqqCAHS Tucker is in the first year of a four-year, $240 million pact with the Dodgers. Overall, he's hitting .232/.330/.370 (95 OPS+) with 0.3 WAR.
The struggles at Dodger Stadium in particular are baffling: he's hitting .189/.286/.272 at home. On Saturday, Dodgers manager Dave Roberts even gave Tucker the day off against Brewers ace Jacob Misiorowski. "I don't think he even realized it until recently, when I think people brought it to light," Roberts said (via MLB.com).
"But the fact is, the splits are stark. I don't think we have a reason behind it. But I wouldn't say (he is) fixated on it, but certainly, now he's conscious of it." "I think more for Kyle, just being at home right now, I see kind of the frustration," Roberts continued.
"I felt that it was best for him to use today as a work day, and then he'll be back in there tomorrow and he'll play all three in Denver (next week). Gives me a chance to get Alex (Call) in there." Tucker was indeed back in the lineup on Sunday, when he went 0 for 3 with the aforementioned missed catch. The former All-Star's slumping can be traced back to last season, including a 37-game stretch with the Cubs during which he hit .180 with a .227 slugging percentage and only one home run.
There was speculation that he was still dealing with a lingering injury, but he and the Cubs were insistent that he was fully healthy -- plus, the injury to his finger happened about a month before the slump started. In Tucker's last four seasons for the Astros (2021-24), he was one of the most productive hitters in all of baseball. He hit .280 with a 145 OPS+ and carried 162-game averages of 36 doubles, 35 home runs, 111 RBI and 95 runs along with 6.4 WAR.
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