Trayce making impact for LA on both sides of ball

DENVER -- Prior to Friday night’s 5-4 victory over the Rockies at Coors Field, Dodgers manager Dave Roberts addressed a smorgasbord of topics with the media, ranging from injuries to slumping sluggers to the value of batting average in the era of advanced metrics.

Over the 11 minutes of discussion, Roberts said that Justin Turner, who had been dealing with abdominal tightness, wouldn’t play the rest of the series at Coors Field after missing six of the club’s previous seven games. Roberts also provided an update on a rehabbing Chris Taylor, who is still a ways from returning to the lineup.

Roberts answered questions about the continued struggles of Max Muncy, who entered Friday’s contest hitting .158/.307/.302 on the season. Muncy isn’t the only one having difficulties at the plate -- fellow slugger Cody Bellinger entered the game with a .649 OPS.

While all of those issues might lead the uninitiated observer to conclude the Dodgers were in trouble heading into the final two months of the season, the club’s win-loss record would suggest otherwise -- Friday’s victory pushed Los Angeles to an MLB-best 67-32.

Surely, there have been contributions where you might least expect them.

Friday’s win was a case in point. An outfielder who wasn’t even on the roster until late June after being acquired for cash considerations from the Tigers has become one of the key cogs in a Dodgers juggernaut that continues rolling unimpeded toward a ninth National League West title in 10 years.

Trayce Thompson was the difference Friday, both at the plate and in the field. His two-run homer to center in the second inning gave the Dodgers an early 4-0 lead. And as closer Craig Kimbrel labored to lock down the save in the ninth, it was Thompson’s tremendous running catch in foul territory that sealed the victory.

“It sounds redundant,” Roberts said, “but Trayce has been a huge addition to our ballclub defensively, which we see every night, and I’ve given him some tough matchups [at the plate], but he’s still productive against right-handed pitching. Certainly, losing Justin and C.T. and having some guys not being consistent with the bat, having Trayce be there and perform has been a big lift to our lineup.”

The reason why Roberts prefaced his remarks by saying they would be somewhat redundant was because Thompson has been delivering since joining the Dodgers for his second stint with the team (having also played for them from 2016-17). Friday’s homer was his fourth in 79 at-bats for Los Angeles, and in the month of July, he’s hitting .305 with five doubles, a triple and three homers. One of those doubles was particularly memorable -- it was a clutch two-bagger at Dodger Stadium last Sunday with his brother, Warriors guard and four-time NBA champion Klay Thompson, on hand to celebrate.

It’s been a long journey in professional baseball for Trayce, with a major back injury derailing his career for a time. Now, at age 31, he’s found a Major League runway with the Dodgers despite having been designated for assignment earlier this year by the Padres and playing at Triple-A Toledo for the Tigers.

He’s made the most of his opportunity, with the most recent example coming in two consequential moments Friday. At the plate in the second, he launched the first pitch he saw from Rockies starter Chad Kuhl 430 feet to center. And on the game’s final, fateful play, he sprinted 83 feet in 4.6 seconds to make a game-ending grab that, according to Statcast, had a 35 percent catch probability. After squeezing the baseball in his glove, his momentum took him all the way into the netting above the wall as he deftly eluded the retreating ballboy.

“That was a play we needed,” Roberts said. “That was going to be Craig’s last hitter, so we needed every bit of that.”

Thompson actually made the play look much easier than it was, thanks to a great jump off the bat and direct route to the ball. It was all in slow motion for him, though.

“I don’t know if it was just because it was at the end of the game or whatever, but I didn’t feel fast running for it,” said Thompson. “I feel like in the moment, you don’t really hear the noise or anything like that. You’re just trying to make the play, and lucky for us, we came out on the right side of it.”

There was a little more than luck involved in that play, which had Thompson’s teammates jumping onto the field in celebration. So it goes for the Dodgers, who, despite the adversity, have won 22 of their last 26 games.