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Do Dodgers have a RISP problem after Wednesday’s historic loss?

Adam Weinrib
Adam Weinrib

Dodgers Way

OAKLAND, CALIFORNIA - APRIL 07: Austin Barnes #15 of the Los Angeles Dodgers gets tagged out at third base by Matt Chapman #26 of the Oakland Athletics in the six inning at RingCentral Coliseum on April 07, 2021 in Oakland, California. (Photo by Thearon W. Henderson/Getty Images)

The 2021 Dodgers will be doing plenty of things we’ve never seen before, if all goes according to plan, but on Wednesday, fans were treated to a ghastly and hopefully not repeatable sight.

Try as they might, it’s hard for baseball fans to accurately assess how their team performs with runners in scoring position.

Only the blown opportunities stick in your craw, after all. All the successes and sacrifice flies always blend into one montage, whereas the first-and-third, no-out situations that turn to dust calcify.

If RISP fail is baseball’s most polarizing misnomer, then Wednesday’s loss in Oakland was the crown jewel of the industry.

Blame Kenley Jansen all you want — and believe us, we understand the impulse to do so.

But the Dodgers lost this game long before it hit extras, with one of the most ghastly stat lines you’ll ever see. Hopefully, it’s not a trend.

How well do the 2021 Dodgers hit with runners in scoring position?

Well…as you’d expect from a team this talented, they perform fairly well in this situation, despite the optics.

Wednesday’s abysmal 2-for-21 really drags them down (imagine putting that many men in scoring position in the first place?), but on the season, LA is batting .245 as a team in those scenarios, including an impressive .380 OBP. They’re without a dinger, but have still netted 33 early RBI.

With two outs and runners in scoring position, the average rises to .298. In so-called “late and close” scenarios? An even .300 in 30 at-bats.

Truly, Wednesday’s failure against a desperate A’s team trying to claw their way to their first victory in seven tries should never be repeated again — but it’ll definitely stand out as one of those end-of-year historic head-scratchers in a Jayson Stark column.

In no other game this year have the Dodgers struggled to score runs in any way, as their powerhouse offense is hitting .310 as a team with a +15 run differential heading into their home opener.

There’s nothing to do about Wednesday’s loss but toss your head back, laugh, and tweet a few anti-Kenley memes just for the interaction.

This L was on the offense, something we’ll almost never be able to say this year, and their execution was beyond poor in the most important scenarios.

No reason to believe this will become a clutch trend, however.

Adam Weinrib

Adam Weinrib

Adam Weinrib is a Content Director on the FanSided network, and has been the co-editor at Yanks Go Yard and Dodgers Way for 4 years. He also co-hosts The Baseball Insiders Podcast twice weekly, alongside FanSided MLB insider Robert Murray, as well as the Yanks Go Yard Podcast. Previously, he was a Senior Editor at 12up.com, and has been covering MLB and NFL for eight years. Previously, he was a headline and features contributor at ClickHole and Onion Sports, as well as the Associate Producer of the ESPN 30 for 30 film "Believeland". An avowed fan of the New York sports teams -- specifically the Yankees -- as well as the North Carolina Tar Heels, you can find Adam complaining mid-game on Twitter, as well as on Facebook, Instagram, and LinkedIn if the game goes really poorly.