Watch: Max Muncy’s grand slam puts Dodgers ahead of Marlins
Los Angeles Dodgers third baseman Max Muncy showed his level as he dispatched a 0-1 heater from Miami Marlins' Edward Cabrera for his season's first grand slam, driving in four runs and putting the Dodgers in front, 4-1. Shohei Ohtani, Freddie Freeman and Will Smith all came home on Muncy's monstrous opposing field home run.
Entering the game, Muncy was hitting .255 with 22 RBIs. This dinger was his ninth of the season as the Dodgers uplifted the mood in Chavez Ravine. The ball sailed for 381 feet with an exit velocity of 102.4 mph.
Earlier, Japanese star Yoshinobu Yamamoto gave up a home run to Jazz Chisholm Jr. However, with Muncy's hit, the Marlins need some catching up to do.
Max Muncy had a career night against Atlanta Braves
The Dodgers offense this year has mostly been spearheaded by Shohei Ohtani, Mookie Betts and Will Smith. However, in between, Max Muncy has come out of the shadows and led the offense, and that's exactly what happened when the Dodgers routed out the Atlanta Braves, 11-2 on Saturday night.
Muncy had his first career three-home run game on the night when he went 4-of-5. from the plate. This was Muncy's 15th multi-home run game of his career:
“It was really cool,” Muncy said. “First time I’ve ever done that, so that’s obviously a really cool moment for me. I’ve felt good at the plate last couple weeks. I know the results aren’t always there, but I feel like I’ve put together some decent at-bats and sometimes you get tough pitches. Tonight I feel like I was able to just get the barrel to the ball a little bit better.”
Among all the homers, Muncy was most delighted with his center field drive, as he held up his shape the way he liked:
“To me the best indication was the first one being to center field,” Muncy said. “That’s just something that, with my approach, I try to stay through the center of the field. I’m obviously going to pull the ball more than I’m not. That’s just how it’s always going to be.
"But my approach is always to the center of the field, so whenever I’m able to actually do that, that to me is the best indicator.”
The Dodgers have started well in their game against the Marlins. They lead the NL West (24-13) and if all goes well, they should be 25-13 within a few hours.