While the Los Angeles Dodgers suffered a 13-7 loss the Miami Marlins in the three-game series finale, Cody Bellinger made a bit of personal and franchise history by hitting his 40th home run of the season.
Bellinger surpassed his previous career high of 39, set during his National League Rookie of the Year campaign in 2017, and became the youngest player in Dodgers franchise history to hit 40 home runs in a single season.
He reached the benchmark in just 118 games, tying with Gary Sheffield (2000) for fastest in Dodgers franchise history. Earlier this season, Bellinger reached 100 career home runs in his 401st game to break Mike Piazza’s Dodgers record (422 games).
The Dodgers now have had a player slug 40 homers on 14 occasions, with Bellinger the eighth different player to accomplish the feat.
Of those, Duke Snider did leads the pack by doing so five times during his 16 years with the Dodgers, including a career-best 43 home runs for Brooklyn in 1956. Gil Hodges and Shawn Green each hit at least 40 home runs in two separate seasons with the Dodgers.
Adrian Beltre was the last Dodgers player to reach the 40-home run club when he hit 48 in 2004. Green holds the franchise record for most home runs in a season at 49, set in 2002. Bellinger remains on pace to shatter that mark.
He got off to a torrid start this season, slugging 14 home runs during games in March and April. That dipped to six in May, and was followed by seven in both June and July. Bellinger is up to six home runs thus far in August. Included in that are three in the past four games.
Bellinger helped the Dodgers break their franchise record with 14 home runs hit during a three-game series. The previous record was held by the 2002 team that hit 12 against the Milwaukee Brewers. They were propelled by Green’s historic four-home run performance.
Additionally, Bellinger’s three-run blast in the finale at Marlins Park gave the Dodgers a fourth consecutive game with at least four homers. Their six home runs in the series opener set a new Marlins Park record, surpassing the five hit by the Colorado Rockies in June 2016.
