By Matt Borelli, Dodgersblue.com
The Los Angeles Dodgers concluded their longest road trip of the season with an 11-10 loss to the Tampa Bay Rays. However, there was a silver lining to the defeat as Trayce Thompson ended an 0-for-39 drought with a stellar performance at the plate.
Thompson began his day with an RBI single in the second inning that extended the Dodgers’ lead to 3-1. The 32-year-old added another single in his next at-bat and later hit his fifth home run of the season.
Thompson finished with the three hits in three at-bats and reached base a fourth time via walk. It was his first time in the Dodgers lineup since May 19.
After the game, Thompson spoke of his success and said he was due for a big game, via Bill Plunkett of the Southern California News Group:
“I knew it was coming,” he said. “You can’t do all this work and do all this stuff and all this preparation without believing and having conviction and all that and just going out there and just playing the game. But it’s been hard for me. I think last year I remember I was on a tough stretch and then I got on base for nine or 10 straight at-bats. This game is tough. You’ve just got to keep going.”
While it can be frustrating for players to not get the results they want, Thompson continued putting in the work and finally was rewarded in the Dodgers’ series finale against the Rays.
The seven-year veteran is batting .147/.301/.368 with five home runs and 14 RBI in 83 plate appearances across 34 games this season.
The Dodgers re-acquired Thompson from the Detroit Tigers last year and he went on to post a .901 on-base plus slugging in 74 games with the team. He’s yet been able to replicate that success this year but remains confident in being able to get on track despite ongoing struggles against left-handed pitching.
Dave Roberts remains confident in Trayce Thompson
Dodgers manager Dave Roberts has continually voiced his expectation that Thompson will take hold of being in a platoon and soon have improved results at the plate.
The Dodgers to this point have appeared unwilling to give Thompson many opportunities against right-handed pitching, as those are instances in which the team looks to start Jason Heyward or David Peralta.
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