Rookie sensation James Outman of the Dodgers has been in a slump. Since April 26, not only had he been struggling at the plate (.591 OPS), but he had struck out in more than 40 percent of his plate appearances. In his most recent 12 at-bats entering Wednesday, he had no hits while striking out six times.
And then in Wednesday’s game against the Minnesota Twins, Outman singled, stole a base and scored in the fourth inning. And in the seventh inning, he hit — he flicked, really — a tiebreaking grand slam.
Just what the Dodgers ordered. In fact, the Dodgers have gotten reliable delivery on what they’ve ordered for the better part of a month.
The 7-3 victory over the Twins was the Dodgers’ 18th in their past 23 games. After starting the season with a 10-11 record, Los Angeles now tops the entire National League at 28-16. It might seem dubious given the franchise’s tepid offseason moves, but the Dodgers have all the panache of a team that will once walk the runway in October.
At the same time, the Dodgers got a tough reminder Wednesday of how quickly we can all lose our looks.
