Max Muncy led the Los Angeles Dodgers with three hits, including a first-inning home run off Scott Kazmir, in a 6-3 win over the San Francisco Giants on Saturday. Muncy’s homer landed in McCovey Cove, marking a career third time he’s found the water outside Oracle Park.
That tied Muncy with Carlos Delgado and Adam LaRoche for the most home runs by an opposing player to land in McCovey Cove. “That’s awesome. I actually didn’t know that, so that’s pretty cool,” Muncy said when informed of the statistic.
His latest blast gave Walker Buehler an early lead and helped the Dodgers extend their winning streak to six games, but it was hardly the most memorable instance of finding the water beyond the right-field wall.
That of course came during the 2019 season, when Muncy launched a homer off Madison Bumgarner, who took exception with what he believed was too much admiration and a long delay to breaking into a trot. Muncy famously told Bumgarner to “go get it out of the ocean.”
Muncy didn’t have an explanation for his success in connecting on a Splash Hit, but it’s a novelty he nonetheless enjoys. “I think it’s just one of those things that’s really cool in baseball,” Muncy said.
“When it comes to seeing where a ball goes, there’s not many ballparks out there with a cool thing to hit it at. That’s one of them — put it in the water. That’s pretty cool.”
The left-handed slugger will get an opportunity to break his tie with Delgado and LaRoche on Sunday afternoon, and again when the Dodgers return to Oracle Park for a three-game series from July 27-29 and Sept. 3-5.
Roberts lauds Muncy as ‘really good hitter’
After being among the Dodgers to get off to a slow start this season, Muncy has emphatically turned a corner over the past two weeks. He recently attributed it to ongoing changes with mechanics taking effect, and for Dodgers manager Dave Roberts, it’s a return to form.
“He’s just going back to being a really good hitter,” Roberts said. “And really good hitters use the whole field, they swing at strikes, take balls, and when the pitcher makes a mistake, with the power he has, he can slug you. And he values the walk, too.
“He’s just a great all-around performer.”
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