Dodgers news: Dave Roberts reveals lone bright spot in struggles vs. Padres

There's no two ways about it: the Los Angeles Dodgers have had almost nothing going their way in their first two games at Petco Park against the San Diego Padres.

Keyword: Almost.

That's right, while the Dodgers are officially out of first place and have been thoroughly bested by the Padres in two straight contests, the one bright spot of the team's efforts has been rookie infielder Alex Freeland, who is responsible for both of LA's home runs in San Diego.

Asked about what's wrong with the Dodgers' offense, manager Dave Roberts admitted that, at this time of the year, teams tend to struggle, but Freeland has been important for Los Angeles, as his fight and hunger have been sorely missing from the lineup.

“It's about how can I help the team win? And, you know, find a way to move the line forward, get hits, spoil pitches, compete. And there's a different level of trying. You know, I think everyone's trying. But I think that just the next level of going with whatever swing you have that particular night and fighting and willing yourself to get some hits, get on base, create innings, and score runs,” Roberts told reporters.

“It's not a lack of talent. It's certainly not a lack of try. But, you know, we got to do more. And, you know, that's sort of what I see… And, you know, there's a point in the season where you're kind of trying to find your swing. And, you know, we're at the end of August.

“And, you know, it's not about, it's just about getting the job done, you know, and finding a way to find some production. And it might look ugly, but, you know, we got a kid (Freeland) who comes up and, you know, he's responsible for two of our runs in this series. So it's, you know, and this is just fight and hunger from a young kid who's trying to stick, you know.”

While Roberts certainly deserves credit for pinch-hitting Freeland when he did, why the player who hit the team's lone homer in Game 1 was on the bench for Game 2 makes about as much sense as benching Alex Call after the Rockies series for a seemingly always-struggling Michael Conforto. Still, in the skipper's opinion, LA has the talent to be successful; they just need to get on the same page and execute up to their World Series standards.

“So, you know, you look at the talent in our room and, you know, now, obviously, we've lost the first two here,” Roberts declared. “You know, Pivetta has had a nice year. But, you know, regardless of what the game plan is, and they have game plans as well, right? And so there is a situation, like the guy said, you do got to read and react. And you got to kind of understand what's happening in a ball game and make your adjustments.”