Dodgers: Right-handed batters the key to beating Stephen Strasburg?

The Dodgers will face Stephen Strasburg tonight. Time for the left-handed batters to feast right? That may not be the case tonight.

Friday night at Chavez Ravine, baseball fans are in for a treat as Clayton Kershaw will battle against Stephen Strasburg.  Given that Strasburg is a right-handed starting pitcher, the Dodgers’ left-handed sluggers should be in for a productive night right?  For the Dodgers, that has not been the case in previous meetings with Mr. Strasburg.

Joc Pederson is just 1-11 against Strasburg with seven strikeouts although he does have one home run.  Cody Bellinger has also struggled in the past against Stephen Strasburg going 2-15 with one double and no home runs.  Corey Seager is also just 1-12 against Stephen while Max Muncy is an ugly 0-10 with five strikeouts.

One reason why Strasburg has thoroughly dominated the Dodgers’ left-handed bats is due to his diving changeup and a sharp curveball.  This season, those have been Strasburg’s best pitches as he has allowed a .190 wOBA against his changeup and a .202 wOBA against his curveball.

For Pederson, he has struggled against changeups this season posting an ISO of just .164. Cody Bellinger improved against the changeup this season, raising his ISO against the changeup from .156 to .288.  Belli also improved greatly against curveballs as his ISO rose from .103 to .286 from a season ago.

Bellinger’s improvements will be put to the test against Strasburg as he has one of the best changeups in baseball and his curveball is dynamite when it is on.  Stephen will be going on shorter rest than usual so that will be something to watch to see how it affects the quality of his pitches.  He pitched three innings in Tuesday’s single-elimination wild-card game.

On the opposite side of the spectrum, Max Muncy continued to struggle against the changeup and curveball this season.  Mad Max posted an ISO of just .094 and .137 against the change and curve in 2019.  This will put LA’s more pressure on LA’s right-handed batters to produce tonight.  Luckily, past results have been good for a few right-handed-hitting Dodgers.

More from LA Dodgers News

• Former Astro seemingly takes uncalled for shot at Cody Bellinger after Cubs deal
• Dodgers’ 2023 lineup without Trea Turner isn’t as impressive as it should be
• Recapping who Dodgers gained and lost in Rule 5 Draft
• Dodgers ironically sign former all-star to potentially replace Cody Bellinger
• Padres-Xander Bogaerts contract feels like Manny Machado desperation

A.J. Pollock is 7-14 lifetime against Strasburg with one home run and just two strikeouts.  Justin Turner is 4-14 against him with two home runs.  Even Kiké Herandez has hit two home runs against Stephen Strasburg which are his only two hits in nine at-bats against him.  Will Smith is 0-2 against Strasburg but he will look to put a charge into a few pitches tonight.

Chris Taylor is just 1-16 against Strasburg but he will start the night on the bench with Joc Pederson starting in right field and Pollock manning left field.  Overall this season, right-handed batters have done slightly better against Stephen Strasburg posting a slash line of .224/.280/.366 compared to a .192/.259/.328 slash line by left-handed hitters.

As always, there is no predicting the future, especially in the postseason but Pollock and Turner could play a big role tonight in getting some offense going against Strasburg.  Cody Bellinger’s vast improvement will also be put to the test against the elite offspeed offerings that he will see against Stephen Strasburg.