The Los Angeles Dodgers fought an uphill battle into the eighth inning on Sunday, then came crashing down on the Cincinnati Reds to the tune of six runs. Four of which came on one crack of the bat from Corey Seager.
Less than 24 hours removed from delivering his first walk-off hit — a double in the ninth inning — at any level since he began playing organized baseball in 1997, Seager hit the first grand slam of his career.
His last grand slam as a professional came with Triple-A Oklahoma City in August 2015. Before Seager capped off the Dodgers’ improbable comeback, there were contributions from Cody Bellinger and Chase Utley.
Bellinger hit the first of two home runs on the day — a two-run shot halfway up the pavilion in right field — to cut the Reds’ lead to 3-2 in the second inning. Bellinger’s second homer came with one out in the bottom of the eighth, and also went to right field.
Both were measured by MLB Statcast at 404 feet. The multi-home run game was Bellinger’s third of his career.
With the Dodgers trailing, 4-2, Utley led off the bottom of the fifth with a solo home run to center field that grazed off Billy Hamilton’s glove on his leaping attempt. It was Utley’s lone hit of the game, though he finished with three walks.
One of his walks came with the bases loaded in the eighth inning. Just before that, Kiké Hernandez worked a walk of his own. He fouled off seven consecutive pitches, eight overall, and drew the free pass on the 13th pitch from Raisel Iglesias.
