Joc Pederson gave the Los Angeles Dodgers 250 home runs this season, which broke the Houston Astros’ National League record set in 2000. Pederson’s two-run homer in the fourth inning was his the second of the night.
They pulled even with the Astros behind Pederson’s home run in the bottom of the first inning. That was Pederson’s eighth leadoff homer and 19th of his career. He set a Dodgers franchise record with eight leadoff home runs last season; breaking Davey Lopes’ mark of seven.
This week of play has now seen L.A. break three records. Russell Martin’s blast in the series finale against the Arizona Diamondbacks gave the Dodgers 236 long balls this season, their most in franchise history, which they have since added to.
Then in the series opener with the Colorado Rockies, Chris Taylor became the team’s 11th player to reach double digits in homers this season. That not only represented the most in Dodgers history but set a new NL record as well.
There is potential for that number to grow to 12 if Matt Beaty can slug two more homers before the regular season winds to a close. This year’s Dodgers could additionally become the third team in franchise history to have a quartet of players with at least 30 home runs.
Cody Bellinger leads the way with 44, and he’s joined in that category by Max Muncy (33) and Pederson (32). Justin Turner is closing in on the mark, as his 27 home runs thus far have tied a career high.
“I never considered myself a home run hitter,” Turner said. “I just try to hit the ball as hard as I can and sometimes it’s high enough that it goes over the fence. I like getting on base, scoring runs and driving in runs. If they come by homers then they come by homers.”
Kiké Hernandez (17), Will Smith (13), Corey Seager (12), Alex Verdugo (12), David Freese (10) and A.J. Pollock (10) have also hit at least 10 home runs this season. Bellinger, Pederson, Verdugo and Smith have already set career-best marks in home runs.
Muncy is three away from surpassing last year’s total, and Hernandez is five from his own new personal record.
The Dodgers as a team rank third in the Majors in home runs, trailing the Minnesota Twins (271) and New York Yankees (261).
