Day baseball is when Dodger Stadium turns into a power-hitter’s paradise, and the home team will look to tap into the long-ball potential on Sunday.
The Los Angeles Dodgers will host the Cincinnati Reds in the deciding game of a three-game series as the Dodgers look to jump-start a nine-game homestand.
The Dodgers entered play Saturday with the second most home runs in baseball, and they are the only major league club to have three power hitters with at least 25 home runs. The Chicago White Sox are the only other club with two such players.
J.D. Martinez has 25 home runs in his first season with the Dodgers, while Max Muncy and Mookie Betts each have gone deep 27 times. Freddie Freeman is close to joining the 25-homer club with 21.
Muncy powered the Dodgers’ 3-2 victory Saturday with a pair of homers to tie Betts for the team lead. It was his fifth multi-homer game of the season and 14th of his career. With 70 RBIs, he has passed his total of 69 from last season.
The home runs were the Dodgers’ only two hits of the game and came from a player who has six home runs and 16 RBIs over his last nine games.
“I think I’m just getting my hands to work properly and just relaxing in the (batter’s) box,” said Muncy, who is batting just .199 this season but has an .826 OPS. “I would like for more results besides home runs, but I’m not going to complain about them.”
Where the Dodgers need to get their act together is on the mound. Clayton Kershaw (shoulder) threw a simulated game Saturday and is close to a return from the injured list. Lance Lynn was added to the rotation in a trade with the Chicago White Sox, and Joe Kelly was added to the bullpen in the same deal. He wiggled out of a bases-loaded jam Saturday to earn the win in relief.
On Sunday, Los Angeles rookie right-hander Michael Grove (2-2, 6.19 ERA) will make at least one more start before the reinforcements arrive. Grove, who has 20 career appearances and 16 starts, has never faced the Reds.
Cincinnati will counter with right-hander Graham Ashcraft (5-7, 5.64), who will make his 20th start of the season after making 19 as a rookie last season.
One of Ashcraft’s 19 starts this season was against the Dodgers on June 8 when he took the loss after giving up three runs on three hits in 2 2/3 innings. That was in the midst of a three-start stretch when he went 0-3 with a 16.03 ERA. Since then, he is 2-1 over five starts with a 2.10 ERA after recovering from a calf contusion.
“It’s an important stretch for us,” the Reds’ Spencer Steer said. “Every game is obviously important when you’re trying to win a division. It’s a really good team and a really good test for us, I think. It’s good also for our offense to see some runs and touch home plate.”
After scoring six runs in the series opener Friday, the Reds scored twice Saturday while losing to the Dodgers for the second time in five games this season. Cincinnati rookie Elly De La Cruz had a double and a run scored but flew out to end the game with the tying runs on base.
The Reds most recently won a season series against the Dodgers in 2018, when they went 6-1.
–Field Level Media
