The Los Angeles Dodgers took a tough 10-1 loss to the Philadelphia Phillies on Tuesday night. Los Angeles was out of sorts, and Philly capitalized to steal the first game of their early July series. Dodgers pitcher Bobby Miller had a tough night and shared his plan for improvement after his team gave up nine runs.
“Just execution and getting ahead of batters,” Miller replied when asked what he wants to work on going into the next matchup, via SportNetLA. “Just being in attack mode. That's when I'm at my best, in attack mode, and get ahead of guys and put them away fast instead of getting in a 0-2 and working in a 3-2 a lot. So that's really just the biggest takeaway.”
Bobby Miller ended the Dodgers' brutal Phillies loss having pitched four innings. He gave up 10 hits and four earned runs. Through seven games, the 25-year-old has amassed a 1-2 record with an 8.07 ERA to go with 27 strikeouts and 1.83 WHIP.
Miller was on the injured list earlier in the season due to shoulder inflammation. He understands that trying to get in a good rhythm is challenging, but he wants to improve.
“It's been tough. It really has but I'm going to use this [failure] as motivation for my next outing… I'm going to get back to where I need to be, That's for sure,” Miller added.
Bobby Miller's slump hurts the Dodgers, but thankfully, other pitchers can help keep things afloat while he regains form. Gavin Stone (team leader in wins and ERA) will continue to spearhead Los Angeles' defense.
Dodgers look to push strong amid season midpoint
The Dodgers fell to 55-37 with Tuesday night's Phillies loss. Yet, they retain the best record in the NL West. Their hiccup against Philly does not overshadow the other great things they are accomplishing.
Shohei Ohtani finished the Dodgers' July 6 Milwaukee Brewers win with a home run, triple, stolen base, two walks, and was hit by a pitch in a game on Saturday. His feat has been done only twice before in 115 years. The last time was in 2019 when Christian Yelich got a homer, triple, stolen base, walk and was hit by a pitch in a game for the Milwaukee Brewers. Before then, it only happened once before, way back during the 1910 season for the New York Highlanders, as noted by ClutchPoints' Benjamin Adducchio.
Dave Roberts was impressed by Ohtani's poise during the matchup.
“I felt like he was going to be able to reset himself,” Roberts said about Ohtani, via ESPN. “He took a couple walks, got the ball up in the zone and he was back to being Shohei.”
“Hitting is very difficult certainly when you're Shohei and guys are going to bring their best when they face him,” Roberts added. “I think for him just simplifying where he is good in the strike zone, then the natural ability takes over. I've never seen anything like it recently.”
Ohtani and his teammates look to keep their foot on the gas as the 2024 MLB season approaches its midpoint.
