Yasiel Puig had a rough start to the day, but he knows how to finish in style.
The Los Angeles Dodgers superstar was late to the ballpark for pregame drills prior to the team's meeting with the Miami Marlins and was fined for his tardiness.
Dodgers beat writer Bill Plunkett was first to break the news.
So Yasiel Puig hustled into locker room at 4:50. 35 minutes before stretch. Well after most players here. Now in mgr office with Mattingly
— Bill Plunkett (@billplunkettocr) August 20, 2013
Puig is out of mgr office after 10 minutes. #Dodgers
— Bill Plunkett (@billplunkettocr) August 20, 2013
Puig was fined for late arrival today. Mattingly: "More than a dollar. Less than 10,000". Told Mattingly he got caught in traffic. #Dodgers
— Bill Plunkett (@billplunkettocr) August 20, 2013
If that wasn't enough, Puig was also benched to start the game (though the official reasoning by manager Don Mattingly was the rookie's recent slump). It was as though the stage was setting itself for Puig on Tuesday for a dramatic turnaround.
Puig stepped in to play right field in a double-switch in the bottom of the sixth inning. He then came up to bat in the top of the eighth as he led things off.
The young Cuban phenom needed just one pitch to make his appearance count, as he took a low Dan Jennings offering to deep center field for his 12th home run of the season. The blast also broke a 4-4 tie to put the Dodgers ahead in their eventual 6-4 victory.
Talk about a finish.
This home run couldn't have come at a better time for Puig. His emotions have been getting the best of him recently, and we've seen that coincide with a decline in his play. Undergoing the worst slump of his young career, Puig was just 6-for-35 with 10 strikeouts and just one RBI in his previous nine games. He posted a .171 batting average and .257 slugging during that time.
Yasiel Puig came back and showed us why we are so enthralled with him with this clutch solo shot Tuesday night. Don Mattingly has to be hoping that his prized rookie's slump and off-field troubles are finally over.
Read more MLB news on BleacherReport.com
- Login to post comments