Danny Espinosa 'trying to do too much'
Nationals second baseman Danny Espinosa went 0 for 4 with three strikeouts Tuesday against the Dodgers, putting him in an 0-for-13 slump in his last three games and dropping his season average to .175.
"Danny's best side is right-handed. [Left-hander Clayton] Kershaw made some good pitches on him and he had some pitches to hit and I think he is trying to do too much," manager Davey Johnson said after Tuesday's game, per MLB.com.
Teammate Tyler Moore is also mired in a hitting slump and hitting coach Rick Eckstein said they are struggling because both players are missing on fastballs.
"They have to get back on the fastball," Eckstein said. "You can't be in between. …. When you are facing guys as tough as Kershaw, you are not going to get too many pitches that are over the heart of the plate. The breaking stuff, when it's down in the zone, it has late sharp bite on it. It's pretty good. You have to get on the fastball. Anytime you are sitting in between, you are late on the heater and early in the off speed. You have to get back on the heater."
