PITTSBURGH — Slumping Yasiel Puig was not in the starting lineup Sunday night for the third time in the Los Angeles Dodgers’ past seven games, but manager Don Mattingly said that does not mean the talented right fielder is becoming a part-time player.
Mattingly said he sat Puig out because he thought it was a bad matchup against Pittsburgh Pirates starter Charlie Morton. Going into Sunday night, Morton had held right-handed batters to a .226 batting average and three home runs in 164 at-bats this season.
Puig entered the game in the seventh inning as part of a double switch and singled in his only at-bat as the Dodgers lost 13-6 to the Pittsburgh Pirates.
Puig has struggled against pitching of all types over the last two months.
He went 0-for-9 in the first two games of the three-game series, in which the Dodgers were swept, and he is 4-for-23 (.174) in his first eight games in August. That came after he hit .198 in July in 24 games.
Puig has been known to be temperamental during his three years with the Dodgers. However, Mattingly said he had a positive talk with Puig prior to Sunday night’s game.
“He’s fine with why he wasn’t playing,” Mattingly said. “He understands. He’s going to be in there more often than not.”
The slide dropped Puig’s batting average to .246. That is quite a comedown from his rookie season of 2013 when he batted .319 or the .296 he hit last season.
Puig is putting in extra work in the batting cages in an effort to shake his slump, and Mattingly believes he is seeing progress.
“I think he’s been swinging better, for sure,” Mattingly said. “We’re just trying to get him straight. He’s been too far turned, too far forward. We want to get him straightened back up so he’s not so twisted.”