3 years ago
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LOS ANGELES — Cody Bellinger has not looked similar the aforesaid hitter successful October that helium was during a miserable regular season.
That’s due to the fact that helium isn’t.
Late successful the season, Bellinger lowered his hands and dispersed retired somewhat successful his stance. During the postseason, helium has taken the adjustments a measurement farther, moving up successful the batter’s container somewhat astatine times and adjacent choking up connected the bat.
The results person been encouraging. Bellinger went into Game 4 of the National League Championship Series against the Atlanta Braves connected Wednesday 7 for 24 (.292) with 4 walks and six RBIs – including the game-winning RBI successful the ninth inning of Game 5 of the NL Division Series against the San Francisco Giants and the momentum-changing three-run location tally successful the eighth inning Tuesday.
“It’s hard – but I deliberation erstwhile you deed stone bottommost there’s a batch of accidental for openness and change,” Dodgers manager Dave Roberts said of Bellinger’s in-season alterations. “To his credit, helium lowered his hands, understood that helium needed to deed the shot much square, much flat, get the loop retired of his plaything and you spot the way of that bat (on the location run). There’s nary mode with an uppercut you’re going to quadrate that shot up.
“So each the recognition goes to him and the hitting guys who grind each azygous day.”
One of those hitting coaches, Brant Brown, explained the motive down the plaything changes was “putting him successful a concern wherever helium doesn’t person to overcomplicate oregon overmove oregon deliberation astir it excessively much. It’s truly simple. The execution is what it’s each about.”
Having received the affirmative reinforcement of bully results with the altered swing, should Bellinger beryllium expected to instrumentality that aforesaid plaything into a 2022 play erstwhile helium volition beryllium looking to rebound?
“I don’t cognize the answer,” Roberts said. “I bash deliberation that the occurrence that he’s having volition bleed into adjacent year. Also conscionable having a afloat offseason of wellness and not rehab (following past year’s enarthrosis surgery) I deliberation volition besides beryllium a immense benefit.
“But whether helium keeps his hands wherever they’re astatine oregon goes backmost to wherever helium was erstwhile helium was a 100 percent healthy, I conscionable don’t cognize the reply close now.”
RISPY BUSINESS
The Dodgers went 3 for 7 with runners successful scoring presumption but were inactive conscionable 5 for 25 successful those situations done the archetypal 3 games of the NLCS and 16 for 75 (.213) successful the archetypal 9 games of their postseason.
“I deliberation we person had immoderate atrocious approaches,” said Mookie Betts, who came done with 2 outs and RISP successful Game 3, driving successful the go-ahead tally with a treble successful the eighth inning. “We’ve been successful scoring position. We could ever instrumentality the blame. But I deliberation we should springiness immoderate recognition to those arms implicit there. They’re truly good.
“I cognize Belli drives a Benz. But they thrust Benzs too. … It’s tough. It’s pugnacious to calm down and unbend and effort and get a bully transportation to hit. But successful the eighth close determination (in Game 3) erstwhile Belli comes through, I deliberation it’s benignant of a suspiration of alleviation – like, ‘We yet did it’ and present it becomes contagious.”
PITCHING CHANGE
The Braves planned to commencement 23-year-old right-hander Huascar Ynoa successful Game 4. Ynoa made 17 starts for the Braves during the regular season, but helium missed 3 months aft helium punched the dugout seat successful vexation and fractured his pitching hand.
Ynoa was scratched from the Game 4 commencement with enarthrosis inflammation and was taken disconnected the progressive roster owed to the injury. Left-hander Dylan Lee was added to the roster.
PTBNL NAMED
The Dodgers completed their commercialized with the Kansas City Royals for left-hander Danny Duffy by sending Double-A right-hander Zach Willeman to the Royals arsenic the subordinate to beryllium named later.
A 19th-round draught prime retired of Kent State successful 2017, Willeman was 3-2 with a 3.78 ERA for the Tulsa Drillers this season.
Duffy was connected the injured database astatine the clip of the commercialized owed to a recurring forearm occupation and did not transportation for the Dodgers.
ALSO
Gavin Lux’s misplay astatine the center-field partition connected Austin Riley’s alert shot successful the 4th inning of Game 3 was primitively ruled a treble by the authoritative scorer. After a reappraisal by MLB, the telephone was changed to a two-base mistake connected Lux. Two of the 4 runs Buehler allowed are present unearned runs.
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