Dalton Rushing struck out three times and finished hitless Thursday night as the Los Angeles Dodgers beat the San Francisco Giants 5-2, a game that gave the rookie catcher and first baseman another hard night in the middle of a stretch that has gone from blistering to cold. After striking out on a breaking ball out of the zone in the bottom of the fourth inning, Rushing broke his bat over his leg and slammed his leg guard on the dugout bench.
Two innings later, he struck out again on a high fastball with men in scoring position, then slammed his new bat over his helmet three times. Rushing had not gotten a hit since May 6, and the game left him stuck in a slump that has dragged down his numbers after a fast start to the season. In his first eight games, he hit.444 with a 1.761 OPS. Over his next 14 games, he went 7 for 39, leaving him at.179 with a.484 OPS during that stretch.
The Dodgers needed the win more than the box score suggested. They had lost four consecutive games before taking the final two games of their four-game series against the Giants, and Thursday's victory moved them to 25-18 while keeping them in first place in the National League West. The club began a nine-game road trip Friday night, with the Los Angeles Angels waiting for the first three games, followed by a big series against the San Diego Padres and then a National League Championship Series rematch with the Milwaukee Brewers.
Rushing's reactions told the story of the night as plainly as the strikeout totals did. The Dodgers can absorb one quiet game from a young hitter, but the longer his slide runs against better pitching and with runners aboard, the more the pressure shifts from a hot start to the question of how quickly he can get back to doing damage.
