After securing a series split against the rival San Francisco Giants, the Los Angeles Dodgers should have been in something of a happy mood considering their slump.
But catcher Dalton Rushing wasn’t able to move past his personal rough evening and took it out on himself with a baseball bat.
Rushing has been in a bit of a slump, having gone 3-for-20 at the dish in the month of May – including an 0-for-3 performance on Thursday night.
He started off the night by striking out against Landen Roupp in the bottom of the second with runners on second and third.
Two innings later and Rushing went down on strikes again – prompting outrage from the catcher.
Broadcast cameras caught Rushing breaking his bat over his knee as he returned to the dugout before he slammed his leg pads onto the ground.
Dodgers catcher Dalton Rushing couldn’t contain his anger in a rough evening at the plate
After striking out in the fourth inning, Rushing snapped his bat over his knee
Two innings later, after striking out again, Rushing hit himself in the head with a new bat
But the frustration didn’t stop there for Rushing. In the bottom of the sixth, with the game tied at 2-2, he went down swinging against Matt Gage with runners in scoring position again.
An infuriated Rushing then began hitting himself on his head with his bat while wearing his helmet.
Then, as he was getting ready to go back out into the field, he was seen screaming into his hands.
Fortunately for Rushing, the Dodgers managed to score three runs off two singles to take a 5-2 lead that they would carry over the finish line.
Rushing had a hot April, slashing .341/.420/.864 and smacking seven home runs. May hasn’t been as kind as he’s managed an ERA of just .150. However, he’s still in the midst of a promising season as the 25-year-old bats .288.
The catcher has attracted attention for his non-playing antics, including when he got into an argument with the Giants earlier in the season after he appeared to show little regard for an injured opponent. He also quibbled with the Chicago Cubs after he allegedly called one of their players a ‘fat f**k.’
