This article was generated by artificial intelligence and is automatically updated as news breaks. All credit belongs to the original reporters and their publications.

Dave Roberts is sticking with Andy Pages in the No. 2 hole — and he sounds genuinely encouraged by what he’s seeing. Per Dodger Blue, Roberts said the continued reps batting second are good for Pages’ experience and development, even after the spot has been something of a black hole for the Dodgers offense this season.

The Dodgers have cycled through multiple players in the two-spot this year without finding a reliable answer. Pages has gotten the bulk of the opportunities there since late May, and while the early returns were rough, he’s started to settle in. That tracks with what we’ve seen from him lately — he homered in the series win over Seattle and has looked more comfortable at the plate over the past few weeks. Roberts clearly sees this as a long-term investment, not just a short-term plug.

Pages, now 23, has been one of the more intriguing young bats in the Dodgers’ system over the past two years. He debuted in 2024 and showed flashes of the raw power that made him a standout in the minors, but consistency — particularly against breaking stuff — was the hurdle. Batting second forces him to see more pitches, work counts, and adapt to how opposing pitchers attack him early in games. It’s a different challenge than hitting sixth or seventh, where you can freelance more. Roberts seems to believe the exposure is accelerating Pages’ development, which is a bet on the player’s ceiling rather than optimizing the lineup on a nightly basis.

That’s a meaningful distinction. With Shohei Ohtani dealing with knee soreness and the lineup needing to hold together through the stretch run, having Pages grow into a reliable presence near the top of the order matters more than it might seem on paper. The Dodgers aren’t asking him to be Mookie Betts in that spot — they’re asking him to not be an automatic out between the leadoff hitter and the middle of the order. The bar is “be competitive at the plate,” and Pages is starting to clear it.

I like that Roberts isn’t yanking him around. One of the worst things you can do with a young hitter is shuffle him up and down the lineup every time he has a bad week. Pages needs reps and trust, and he’s getting both. If he keeps trending the right direction, the Dodgers might not need to go outside the organization for lineup help as much as people think. That said, he still has to prove he can sustain this over a full month — not just flash for a week and fade. We’ll be watching closely.

Source(s): Staff (Dodger Blue) | First reported: July 31, 2026 7:25 PM UTC

God Bless and Go Dodgers