When the Los Angeles Dodgers signed Kyle Tucker to a $240 million deal in free agency, many thought that they would become unstoppable.
However, Tucker has had a terrible season, hitting .232 with a .718 OPS. The Dodgers find themselves behind the Milwaukee Brewers in the standings, but Tucker is showing signs of life at the perfect time.
The Dodgers are trying to pass the Brewers in the final nine games of the regular season, and it looks like Tucker has broken out of his year-and-a-half-long slump, dating back to the start of the second-half of last season with the Chicago Cubs. In his last eight games, Tucker has 12 hits, four home runs, 10 RBI and a 1.486 slash line.
For the Brewers and the rest of the National League, that is a scary sight, especially now that Mookie Betts is looking like himself and Teoscar Hernández has been very hot at the plate this month. Suddenly, the Dodgers superteam is looking like the team every fan feared.
Perhaps the scariest part is that the Dodgers have been elite for most of the year without huge contributions from Tucker, Betts and Hernández. Tucker's recent stretch is great, but it's a very small sample size. Also, seven of those eight games came on the road.
Why is that relevant? Well, this season, the main reason Tucker's overall numbers are so bad is that he cannot hit at Dodger Stadium. He has a .187/.287/.285 slash line at home and just four home runs. However, on the road, he has played like an All-Star. On the road this year, his OPS is .853 and he has 12 homers.