Puig earns a runway to third spot in batting order with Turner injured
by Rowan Kavner
Yasiel Puig could be the answer at the №3 spot in the lineup most nights, regardless of the opposing pitcher’s handedness, while Justin Turner is sidelined.
Manager Dave Roberts couldn’t guarantee at this moment that Puig will hit third every day once the regular season begins, but he said Sunday he does want to give his right fielder “a little bit of a runway” to show he deserves the opportunity.
“I think that right now, losing JT, having Yasiel in there, whether it’s every single night or different times having him in there, I think that’s an opportunity for him and gives us a chance to be considerably better,” Roberts said.
Puig hit third in the lineup Sunday to start the Freeway Series against the Angels and took advantage, working the count early for a walk and later delivering a solo home run — his third straight spring game with a homer — in the Dodgers’ 4–2 win.
“The №1 thing is he’s staying in the strike zone,” Roberts said. “It seems more now than ever, when he steps in the batter’s box, he really understands what he wants to do at the plate, and that’s really important. I think there’s certain moments that we had last year — big spots — and for him to stay in the strike zone and keep his composure and put an at-bat together, I think it showed all of us something.”
Going forward, how often Puig gets to hit in the №3 spot goes hand in hand with the quality of at-bats he can continue to string together, whether it’s against lefties or righties.
While Puig’s reverse splits last year were stark, hitting .288/.355/.554 against righties and .183/.317/.275 against lefties last year, Roberts said he thought Puig turned things around the later the year went.
Puig went 6-for-15 against left-handed pitching with a home run and a double in the postseason and is 4-for-7 with a double in his limited at-bats against lefties this spring. Roberts expects to see that production continue against lefties in 2018.
“That reverse split you really don’t see with many players,” Roberts said. “He really, really handled himself against right-handed pitching and thrived. But the lefty, he couldn’t figure it out, we couldn’t figure it out, and it became mental. I think we crossed that hurdle. The bottom line is he had to have better pitch selection against the lefty, and that’s what he worked out.”
