Dodgers News: Austin Barnes Impressive Play Gets Praise From Doc
As the Dodgers make their way into the postseason and allowing starters to rest, players normally out of the lineup have been given a chance to make a name for themselves. For Dodgers catcher Austin Barnes, he has help keep the Dodgers on the path to success with his timely play and clutch moments.
In a trade that sent Dee Gordon to the Marlins, Barnes did not make the immediate splash the Dodgers had immediately hoped for in 2014. Luckily for Barnes, hard work and persistence pays off as he has matched his career high in home runs and seven away from his career best in RBI's in about half the amount of games played.
The strong play has given him the recognition and confidence boost needed from Dave Roberts (quotes via SportsNet LA).
“I don’t know what’s his career high, but I do know he’s strong and when the ball is close to him, he can hit it out of the ballpark. For a while he had the longest home run by a Dodger this year."
On the season, Barnes is batting a .228. In just the month of September, has been batting a .417 with two home runs and three RBI's 24 at-bats.
“Austin is just doing a great job. He understands where he’s at, where he sits on the ball club, he’s ready, he takes care of the pitching staff and he’s gotten a lot of big hits. It was really good to see him have a nice day offensively.”
Barnes helped notch the big comeback win against the Diamondbacks in game one of the doubleheader notching a home run in the eighth inning. The spark helped notch a huge five run inning ultimately leading to the huge comeback and narrow victory.
With more performances like that from Barnes, his name will surely be heard as the season continues to wind down.
