Kyle

Tucker

Tucker’s fourth homer as a Dodger traveled an estimated 376 feet and put the Dodgers up front by a 4-2 score. He drove in the first run of the game for Los Angeles in the first inning with an infield single. Tucker appears to be seeing the baseball better, and should continue to see significant improvement to his .242/.325/.386 slash. Again, it’s important to keep in mind that Tucker has overcome slow starts in more than one of his campaigns.

Tucker has his first big moment for the Dodgers. The 29-year-old came up with two outs and the bases loaded with the Marlins trailing 4-3, and he laced a single up the middle to score a pair to give Los Angeles the win. Tucker has not gotten off to a hot start as seen in his .230/.326/.364 line, but he’s been one of baseball’s best hitters for the past decade or so despite rarely playing his best in the early portion of the season. There’s very little reason to think he won’t get it going shortly.

“I think that he’s obviously going through it right now and not feeling great at the plate. So sometimes, the different visual, letting the game come to you a little bit before jumping in there in the two, changes your outlook and potentially the results,” Roberts said about moving Tucker down the order. Tucker isn’t exactly struggling at .245/.327/.372, with three homers and three steals, but the Dodgers were hoping for more when he signed his megadeal that pays him $33 million this year and $81 million in 2027 before team options are considered. It’s not a major move for fantasy managers, and arguably even a favorable one given more chances to hit with a runner on base.

Tucker, who went 3-for-5 with his third round-tripper of the season on Sunday, receives his first day off since April 5 with Colorado throwing veteran lefty Jose Quintana at Coors Field. Alex Call gets a chance to patrol right field in his place.

Tucker gave the Dodgers a 2-0 lead with a homer in the first with Shohei Ohtani on first off Ryan Feltner. After scuffling in his first few weeks as a Dodger, he’s back to raking, and his slash of .260/.356/.403 is much more impressive considering it was .246/.343/.316 last week. Tucker usually gets off to a slow start, and more times than not, he ends up one of the top outfielders in fantasy baseball.

Ohtani will get a break from hitting for precautionary reasons due to a minor right shoulder issue. The two-way sensation has gone 0-for-7 at the plate in a pair of contests since being hit by a pitch on the right shoulder during Monday’s series opener against the Mets. The Dodgers are going to allow him to focus exclusively on pitching during Wednesday’s start at Dodger Stadium. It’s the first time he’s pitched without being in the lineup since 2021. Blockbuster offseason acquisition Kyle Tucker ascends to the leadoff spot with rookie catcher Dalton Rushing getting a turn at DH in his place.

Tucker played a part in both runs the Dodgers would score in Tuesday’s pitchers’ duel against the Mets. He drew a walk in the first inning and crossed home on a groundout, then later put the Dodgers ahead with a base hit in the eighth. The 29-year-old outfielder is still looking to get going at the dish, batting .242/.360/.306 with one homer, 13 runs scored, 10 RBI, and three steals across 75 plate appearances.

Tucker drove in Alex Freeland with an RBI single into right field off of Kevin Ginkel, snapping a 4-4 tie and proving to be the difference in the contest. He also drew a walk, swiped a base and struck out twice on the night. Through two games, the superstar outfielder is hitting .286 (2-for-7) with two runs scored, two RBI and a stolen base with his new ballclub.

Tucker started out his Dodgers’ tenure with a fielder’s choice, a ground out to first base and a line out to left. He finally got into the fun in the seventh inning, smacking a double up the gap in left center that plated Shohei Ohtani with the Dodgers’ fifth run. He then raced around to score on an RBI single off the bat of Mookie Betts. He’s in perhaps the best lineup spot in all of baseball sandwiched between Ohtani and Betts and should produce stellar fantasy results across the board as long as he manages to stay healthy.

Throughout the spring, the second base position had been framed as a platoon situation between Santiago Espinal and Alex Freeland, so naturally it’s Rojas who gets the start there on Opening Day. It’s likely just manager Dave Roberts respecting and giving the nod to the 37-year-old veteran for Opening Day. Here’s the full lineup against Zac Gallen on Opening Day: Shohei Ohtani (DH), Kyle Tucker (RF), Mookie Betts (SS), Freddie Freeman (1B), Will Smith (C), Max Muncy (3B), Teoscar Hernandez (LF), Andy Pages (CF) and Miguel Rojas (2B).