Los Angeles Dodgers right fielder Cody Bellinger hit another home run and collected three more RBI in Friday afternoon’s victory over the Colorado Rockies at Coors Field.
He now has six home runs and 16 RBI on the season, putting him in elite company with Atlanta Braves’ Eddie Mathews (1953) and New York Yankees’ Alex Rodriguez (2007) as the only players in Major League history to do that in the first eight games of a season, per STATS.
Bellinger additionally holds the Dodgers franchise records for most home runs and RBI in eight games. Bellinger had a similar run of home runs when he was first called up to the big leagues in 2017, hitting an NL rookie-record 39 of them that year.
Overall, he has hit 70 career home runs since making his MLB debut on April 25, 2017. No one in the NL has hit more in that time, although Paul Goldschmidt has also hit 70.
Unlike 2018 when he was platooned for in the second half of the season due to struggles against left-handed pitching, Bellinger is getting the opportunity to play every day in 2019 and so far, he is making the most of it.
He is batting .417/.447/.917 and two of his six long balls are off of southpaws. Bellinger presumably will not be able to continue this torrid pace, but so far it is looking like he could be a legit NL MVP candidate.
The Dodgers as a team have homered in each of their first eight games of the season, which extended their franchise record. The 2002 Cleveland Indians hold the MLB record with a homer in 14 games to start a season, and the 1954 Chicago Cubs hold the National League record at 13 games.
The Dodgers’ 21 home runs overall are the second-most in MLB history through a team’s first eight games.
