Miguel Vargas’ time to shine & Dodgers’ road prowess

Sep 30, 2022 - 2:29 PM

Los Angeles Dodgers v San Diego Padres" src="https://cdn.vox-cdn.com/thumbor/G3pY-tNNhA_tN_7muwGmhFzt7-c=/0x0:5655x3181/1920x1080/cdn.vox-cdn.com/uploads/chorus_image/image/71435685/1428893333.0.jpg" />

On Friday’s Leading Off with True Blue LA podcast, we look at Miguel Vargas taking advantage of a rare start, driving in three runs in the Dodgers’ latest win.

Just by virtue of being on the active roster in September it’s clear the team is at least considering Vargas for a potential postseason role, and after Thursday’s game manager Dave Roberts plainly stated that fact, telling reporters, “His name is certainly in the mix to make the postseason roster. Absolutely.”

Vargas’ overall stats aren’t that great (.195/.209/.293), but we’re only talking about 43 major league plate appearances. And he’s shown both in the majors and minors that he doesn’t strike out much, which makes him stand out among a group of flawed candidates vying for spots. Especially considering that before the game, Roberts said to reporters, “When you’re looking at north of 40% strikeout percentage, that just doesn’t play well in the postseason.”

Dodgers pitching was exceptional during the Padres series, and the mix-and-match post-Kimbrel bullpen proved quite effective. Not only did two different relievers save games in the series, but Dodgers relievers held Manny Machado hitless in six at-bats in key spots with four strikeouts, leaving 10 runners on base.

Thursday was also the Dodgers’ last road game for two weeks, and completed one of the best road campaigns in franchise history, with several standouts.

Podcast links

Ways to listen

RSS feed

Episode link (time: 17:05)