The Dodgers came out swinging to open the second half of the season, downing the Mets by a final of 6-0 on Friday night. Opening day starter Julio Urias proclaimed that “his vacation was over” with 6 innings of 1 hit ball against New York, setting himself up for a bounce back second half. But another guy who had a big game on Friday started his bounce back a bit before the break.
Center fielder James Outman had two hits and two walks in the win over the Amazin’s. But for the Outman, it was the continuation of his July resurgence for LA.
Dodgers manager Dave Roberts praised the rookie for getting his swing and approach back into a better spot in recent games.
“The last five to seven games, I think he’s controlled the strike zone much better,” Roberts said. “I think his swing is in a much better place, where I think before he was in-between a lot – in front of breaking balls, late on fastballs. Right now, he’s seeing the baseball better and taking much better at-bats.”
Via OC Register
Outman is 9-27 (.333) over his last 8 games and 16-54 (.298) over his last 15 games, raising his average to .242 on the season and looking closer to the hitter he was in April when he earned NL Rookie of the Month honors.
His rebound couldn’t have happened at a better time as the Dodgers have seemingly signaled a departure from a first half reliance on rookies. Miguel Vargas and Jonny DeLuca were optioned to the minor leagues over the last week. Barring an unexpected upgrade in the outfield at the trade deadline, the Dodgers seem likely to lean on Outman in the outfield for the rest of the season.
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