Despite their current lull, the Los Angeles Dodgers have one of the top offenses in baseball this season, with Max Muncy among those filling a key role.
Muncy got off to a bit of a slow start in terms of actual hits and power numbers, as his patient approach led to an abundance of walks while working through some mechanics to better handle elevated fastballs.
He then took off as the weather began to warm up, and the San Francisco Giants regularly were on the receiving end of Muncy’s production.
While Muncy has provided production against every team, he took it to another level when the Dodgers faced the Giants this season, though couldn’t explain why, per Susan Slusser of The San Francisco Chronicle:
“I don’t know why I do so well against them, but obviously I’m happy that I do,” he said. “It makes me happy because it means I’m putting the team in a good position to win, and that’s really all I care about — and it makes it even better that it’s the Giants, not only because of the rivalry but because they are the best team in baseball right now. That makes it even sweeter, and I take a lot of pride in it, but it’s one of those things I can’t explain.”
In 19 games (18 starts) against the Giants this season, Muncy hit .284/.385/.672 with two doubles, eight home runs and 12 RBI. His 1.056 on-base plus slugging percentage is sixth-highest for any opponent Muncy has appeared in more than three games against this year.
Muncy’s production against the Giants tailed off this past weekend as he went just 1-for-12 with two walks and five strikeouts during the series loss. Muncy didn’t collect the hit — a single — until the series finale.
For his career thus far, Muncy has hit .258/.380/.596 with eight doubles, 16 home runs and 31 RBI in 54 games (45 starts) against the Giants. The only opponent he has more home runs against is the Rockies, with 18, and benefitting in part from some of those contests coming at hitter-friendly Coors Field.
Kapler praises Muncy
While Muncy was performing at an elite level against the Giants earlier this season, manager Gabe Kapler marveled at the overall player he is.
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