Dodgers: Roberts Holding Out Hope for Bellinger's Offense to Show Up
Even as Dodgers outfielder Cody Bellinger has struggled over the past few seasons, he has continued to show up at important moments in the postseason.
Bellinger followed up his MVP season of 2019 by batting .239 in 2020 with an OPS nearly 250 points lower than the previous year. In October of that year, he hit the game-winning homer in Game 7 of the NLCS to send L.A. to the World Series.
In 2021, Belli battled injuries all season on the way to a .542 OPS, easily the worst of his career. In October, he drove in the winning run in Game 5 of the NLDS in San Francisco and batted .412 with a 1.088 OPS in their six-game loss to the Braves in the NLCS.
This year, Bellinger posted a .654 OPS and his second straight season with an OPS+ below 80, although he did bat .325 with an .860 OPS over his final 13 games. Thus far in the NLDS, he hasn't really shown up, going 1-for-6 with four strikeouts.
Belli won't be in the lineup for tonight's Game 3 with tough lefty Blake Snell on the mound, but as Bill Shaikin reports in the Los Angeles Times, L.A. manager Dave Roberts is still holding out hope for Bellinger's bat to show up in a big moment.
“I know he is doing the best he can, and he snuck in a knock tonight. He still is working through some things, but yeah, I mean, at some point we’re going to need that offense, certainly.”
Bellinger continues to play great defense, but Roberts and the Dodgers are counting on the offensive side of his contributions to help them this October.
