Dodgers Manager Details Obvious Change Kyle Tucker Made Finally Leading to Results

Kyle Tucker's first season in Los Angeles has not been a smooth ride.

After inking a record-breaking four-year, $240 million deal with the Dodgers, Tucker has largely failed to live up to the high expectations set by his career thus far.

Tucker is hitting .239 at the plate — his worst rate since his rookie season — and had just seven home runs before the Dodgers' series against the New York Mets began Friday. That's when Tucker showed more signs of life than he has all season.

Tucker hit back-to-back home runs in Friday and Saturday's wins over the Mets. It was the first time he has had back-to-back games with a home run this season, finishing Friday and Saturday going 3-for-6 at the plate with two walks.

Kyle Tucker has home runs in back to back games for the first time this season.

Him getting hot would make this Dodgers lineup just about unstoppable.

This is a great sign for LA. pic.twitter.com/4BhvfmM5Gq
— Noah Camras (@noahcamras) July 25, 2026

When asked about Tucker's improvement at the plate, manager Dave Roberts suggested it was a result of the 29-year-old getting more comfortable with the Dodgers' coaching staff.

"For me, it stems from I think he's starting to become more open and talk about his feels and thoughts, specifically with the hitting guys," Roberts told reporters on Sunday. "That's a good sign for me, and I see a lot more back-and-forth dialogue with the hitting guys, which I didn't see before.

"And I think that the swings, the hard contact has been better. He's taken some more walks recently. So, all those things for me, the arrow's pointing up."

"We expect him (Shohei) to be pitching; we expect Will Smith to be back... I don't think that our approach to the deadline is changed, given these last 3 weeks with Shohei."

Dave Roberts addresses the media before the #Dodgers series finale against the Mets. pic.twitter.com/gFV1t6EDam
— SportsNet LA (@SportsNetLA) July 26, 2026

Roberts had previously said that he hadn't been able to connect with Tucker, and his recent comments are a good sign that the more reserved Tucker could be warming up to his new team.

"He's very internal," Roberts said. "So, I think that a lot of it is he was trying to figure it out on his own."

Roberts cited Tucker's increase in plate discipline as a reason why he thinks he has improved over the last few weeks. Tucker's strikeout rate prior to Sunday's game was just 11.5%. Prior to July, Tucker was striking out on over 21% of his plate appearances.

"That's something that was a hallmark for him and he hasn't been good at it, to be quite honest, consistently," Roberts said on Tucker's ability to avoid striking out. "And so the last couple of weeks, I've seen him get back to who he is."

Add us as a preferred source on Google