With their depth sapped because of injuries to Kiké Hernandez and Chris Taylor, the Los Angeles Dodgers acquired Kristopher Negrón from the Seattle Mariners three days before the July 31 trade deadline.
The light-hitting utility man got off to a smashing start with the Dodgers, clubbing a home run in his first at-bat with the team. Negrón went on to put together a career-best seven-game hitting streak as he was moved all around the field.
The 33-year-old was not in the lineup Tuesday night but entered in the sixth inning as a pinch-runner after A.J. Pollock hit his third double in as many at-bats. Pollock was removed out of precaution as he works to fully recover from groin tightness.
As the Dodgers went on to blow the game open against the Miami Marlins, they approached making MLB history with their array of extra-base hits.
As noted by Jon Weisman, the Dodgers’ lack of a single was set to put them in a class by themselves.
The Dodgers adding to the suspense. Now at 11 hits and 34 total bases without a single,, which would smash the previous MLB no-single records. WIth Beaty's homer, their 11 runs would also be a record.
— Jon Weisman (@jonweisman) August 14, 2019
However, history was thwarted when Negrón lined a sinking base hit into center field with two outs in the ninth inning. Of course, Negrón can’t be faulted for continuing to play, even if it meant L.A. came up short of a peculiar accomplishment.
Kyle Garlick later added a second single and the Dodgers scored four runs in the ninth to punctuate their 15-1 win. Per Elias Sports Bureau, they became the first team in the Modern Era (since 1900) to score at least 15 runs in a game with no more than two singles.
The Dodgers did their damage behind home runs from Corey Seager, Will Smith, Justin Turner, Cody Bellinger and Matt Beaty. Their six homers set a Marlins Park record, besting the Colorado Rockies’ mark by one.
In addition to Pollock, Max Muncy, Kyle Garlick and Caleb Ferguson each hit a double. Beaty cleared the bases with a three-run triple in the ninth inning.
Smith’s multi-home run game was the first of his career and resulted in Dodgers franchise history. With nine home runs and 26 RBI, Smith broke Bellinger’s Dodgers franchise records for most homers (eight) and RBI (23) through his first 23 games with the team.
