The Los Angeles Dodgers snapped their three-game losing streak with a convincing 9-1 win over the San Francisco Giants at Oracle Park, led by a career night at the plate for Max Muncy.
Muncy gave the Dodgers a comfortable cushion when he hit a three-run homer off Logan Webb in the top of the third. Muncy later helped break the game open with a grand slam in the seventh inning that gave him seven RBI on the night.
Muncy’s first blast extended his streak of reaching base safely at Oracle Park to 27 consecutive games, which is the third-longest by a visiting player in the stadium’s history. It’s bested by Freddie Freeman, who has reached safely in 31 consecutive games at Oracle Park, and Wil Myers (28 games).
After the Dodgers’ victory, Muncy admitted that he dislikes playing at the Giants’ home ballpark and couldn’t explain why he is so successful there, via SportsNet LA:
“I can’t answer that, because I don’t like this place. It’s cold and windy all the time, it was raining the entire game tonight. But I do hit good here. I don’t understand why, but I’m not going to complain about it.”
After his latest offensive outburst, Muncy is now batting a stellar .295/.423/.590 with seven doubles, one triple, nine home runs and 27 RBI in 36 career games at Oracle Park.
The performance was a welcome sight for Muncy, who has gotten off to a slow start this season, as he’s hitting just .194/.356/.444 with three home runs and nine RBI in 10 games.
His prolific performance not only was partly due to facing the Giants, but Muncy again incorporated the step-back movement into his batting stance. The unorthodox change was key to Muncy’s swing mechanics improving last season and appears to have paid dividends once agin.
Max Muncy: Dodger Stadium grass partly to blame for defensive struggles
In addition to his overall struggles at the plate, Muncy has already committed two errors and been part of multiple misplays at third base.
The two-time All-Star knows he has been playing poorly and was critical of himself for not being in position to handle tough hops at the hot corner. However, Muncy also noted new Dodger Stadium grass that has not fully grown in was also a factor.
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