Hernandez says frustration led to slump in May

— Enrique Hernandez’s 2019 season began with an encouraging start. He mashed enough in spring training to be named the Dodgers’ everyday second baseman, getting rid of the utility tag for the first time in his major league career, and carried the blistering bat over to the regular season.

He homered twice on opening day and had six home runs by the end of April. He recorded two hits May 1, running his on-base-plusslugging percentage up to .863. He hasn’t posted a multi-hit game since. Entering Friday’s game against the Pittsburgh Pirates, Hernandez was batting .140 with a .399 OPS, one home run, 18 strikeouts and four walks in 63 plate appearances since May 2.

Hernandez, 27, explained frustration was the source of his struggles. He was hitting the ball hard late last month but wasn’t getting good results. As a result, he began swinging at pitches outside the strike zone and his production plunged.

“It just seemed like I couldn’t catch a break and before we knew it, it was bad,” said Hernandez, who batted seventh Friday and went 0 for 4 with a walk and a strikeout. Overall, he’s batting .216 with an OPS of .684

The frustration, Hernandez said, threw his mechanics out of whack and affected his pitch recognition, which increased his swings on pitches out of the strike zone. He’s working to make the proper adjustments. For manager Dave Roberts, getting HerPITTSBURGH nandez back to his April production starts with not letting frustration — and pressure — accumulate.

“It’s trying too hard,” Roberts said. “I think it’s something where you have an opportunity you haven’t had in your entire career, you want to hold onto it and that leads to trying too hard. I would say that more than being overexposed. I’ve seen him pitched differently over the last few years and I’ve seen him make adjustments. I know he’s going to come out of it and I know he can handle it.”

Kelly goes on bereavement list

The Dodgers placed righthander Joe Kelly on the bereavement list Friday and recalled outfielder Kyle Garlick from triple-A Oklahoma City to take his spot on the roster.

A player must spend at least three games on the bereavement list and not more than seven. Roberts said Kelly will rejoin the team Monday in Los Angeles for the Dodgers’ series opener against the New York Mets.

Short hops

Roberts said Pedro Baez was “probably” unavailable Friday, three days after taking a line drive off his right knee, but he should be available Saturday . ... Roberts said an injury wasn’t why he took out third baseman Justin Turner in the seventh inning Friday. He said he wanted to give Turner some rest and he won’t be in Saturday’s starting lineup. “His body is sort of taking a little beating, so to get him off his feet was a good thing,” Roberts said.