Max Muncy had arguably his best game of the season as the Los Angeles Dodgers defeated the Colorado Rockies, 5-2, to clinch a series victory and even the season series at four games each.
The Rockies jumped out to an early lead in the second inning when Ryan McMahon singled and José Iglesias followed with a double to left-center field to drive him in. However, the lead didn’t last long.
Will Smith worked a leadoff walk in the bottom half of the inning before Muncy put the Dodgers up 2-1 with a 98.9 mph two-run blast on the first pitch he saw.
The Dodgers added another run in the third inning on a solo home run from Mookie Betts for his 18th of the year. Betts has four hits since returning from the 10-day injured list on Sunday and three of them have been extra-base hits.
Muncy continued to hit the ball hard and lined a 107.5 mph double to right field in the bottom of the fourth. He was then driven in on a single by Justin Turner to increase the Dodgers’ lead to three runs.
Muncy finished his day going 2-for-2 with two walks and picked up his first stolen base of the season. He also has hit a home run in three of his past seven games, which could be a positive sign he’s breaking out of the slump he’s been in so far this season.
The Rockies got a run back in the sixth inning on a solo home run from Kris Bryant off Phil Bickford. For Bryant, it was his first in a Rockies uniform after signing a six-year deal there this past offseason.
From there, the Dodgers’ bullpen combined to pitch three innings without allowing a run, including 1.1 innings with three strikeouts from Evan Phillips.
Trayce Thompson added an insurance run for the Dodgers in the bottom of the eighth following a walk from Muncy and a single from Turner.
With Craig Kimbrel unavailable, Brusdar Graterol was called on to close the game and did just that, earning his second save of the season.
Ryan Pepiot shines in start
On Tuesday afternoon, the Dodgers announced Ryan Pepiot as their starting pitcher and pushed Mitch White’s start back a day. Dodgers manager Dave Roberts said the decision was made just to give their rotation some extra rest.
The top pitching prospect shined in his fourth career start, picking up his first career win while throwing five innings and striking out six; both marks set a new career-high for him. The right-hander also gave up just one run and held the Rockies to one walk.
After his third start in May, Pepiot said he was becoming more comfortable pitching at the Major League level.
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