Dave Roberts frustrated by Dodgers at-bats in loss to Marlins

So far this season, the Dodgers have the best batting average and OPS in the majors, and rank second in runs scored even amid early struggles from some of their biggest stars.

That didn’t mean, however, that manager Dave Roberts was ready to excuse the lack of performance he witnessed Tuesday night.

For the first time this year, he voiced frustration with a lack of quality at-bats.

“If you’re not going to put up crooked numbers and be clicking on all cylinders, you gotta be good situationally,” Roberts said. “And we were not good at all tonight situationally. That’s what it comes down to.”

Indeed, in one of the club’s most sluggish performances so far this season, the Dodgers managed only one run and seven hits in a 2–1 loss to the Miami Marlins.

Worse than that: They stranded eight men on base and went just 2-for-7 with runners in scoring position.

The main problem, of course, was the Dodgers’ inability to create consistent chances to begin with, as their offense scuffled on a night Shohei Ohtani was out of the batting order so he could solely focus on his pitching start.

Still, “even without him tonight in the lineup,” Roberts argued, “we should’ve won the game.”

If only they didn’t take bad at-bats and make easy outs the only two times they had the Marlins under threat.

In the first inning, the Dodgers had the bases loaded after a couple of misplayed balls by Miami shortstop Otto Lopez and a one-out walk from Kyle Tucker.

But then, Max Muncy popped out on the first pitch he saw, getting over-aggressive with a first-pitch fastball on the upper-inside corner; and Teoscar Hernández bounced into a fielder’s choice grounder, failing to punish Marlins starter Janson Junk for leaving a 1–2 changeup in the heart of the zone.

For the next six innings, the Dodgers produced just two hits and failed to even advance a runner past first base.

Still, they remained in striking distance, getting a six-inning, two-run start out of Ohtani despite the right-hander lacking his typically overpowering stuff.

“I don’t think he felt completely in sync,” Roberts said. “But for him to still find a way to navigate six innings and then give up two runs, we should win the game.”

Alas, in the eighth, the Dodgers gave away another golden chance.

They finally got on the board after singles from Alex Freeland, Freddie Freeman and Will Smith. They had runners on the corners with one out in the inning as the Marlins summoned right-hander John King from the bullpen.

However, just like in the first, the club squandered the opportunity.

Tucker popped out on a first-pitch sinker around the upper-inside corner. Muncy ended the inning by rolling over on a sweeper painted over the outer edge.

“Too aggressive, not hitting your pitch,” Roberts said when asked to evaluate the team’s quality of at-bats. “In both situations … [all we need is] a ball to the outfield. Yeah, hitting is hard, certainly. But we have to have a better plan.”

Last year, such issues plagued the team during their extended offensive slump over the second half of the season. After the start of July, they ranked just 19th in the majors with a .251 average with runners in scoring position. In the playoffs, they were even worse, faltering with a .204 clip.

That’s why their opening-month performance had felt so refreshing in such situations (they previously ranked seventh in the majors with a .277 with RISP, and fifth with an .823 OPS).

But it’s also why Tuesday came with immediate frustration, offering unwanted flashbacks on a night of sudden regression.

“We let them off the hook,” Roberts said, his sharp tone cutting even deeper than his blunt words. “You have to have a plan with guys in scoring position.”