Manny Machado hasn’t quite lived up to expectations in his first few weeks as a member of the Los Angeles Dodgers, but he’s not sweating it too much.
After the All-Star infielder went 0-for-4 with a strikeout in Saturday’s loss to Colorado (including 0-for-3 with runners on), he denied the notion that he was feeling pressure to perform for the team in a heated NL playoff race.
“Those are excuses to me,” said Machado, per Bill Plunkett of the OC Register. “I’ve got to go out there and do my job. Swing at better pitches, that’s all.”
Since being acquired by the Dodgers in a trade on Jul. 18, Machado is hitting .276 with a .782 OPS for them. That pales in comparison to his time with the Baltimore Orioles this season, a stretch that saw him hit .315 with a .962 OPS.
Machado made some critical comments about the O’s after being traded, but he’s quickly learning that the grass isn’t necessarily greener on the other side, especially with all the added scrutiny that comes with playing on a contender.
