On Thursday morning, infielder Max Muncy returned to the Los Angeles Dodger’s roster following a rehab stint in Oklahoma City with the Triple-A affiliate team for left elbow inflammation.
In the final matchup of a three-game series with the Chicago White Sox at Guaranteed Rate Field on the South Side of Chicago, Illinois, Muncy was slated to bat fourth in the lineup and play second base. Four hours and two minutes later, the Dodgers would win the game 11-9, taking the series 2-1.
The White Sox managed to strike first, and by the bottom of the fourth inning, they had four runs on the board, resulting in left-handed pitcher Tyler Anderson getting pulled with the bases loaded and no outs. Anderson had been lights out so far this season with seven wins, no losses, and a 28 scoreless inning streak that was snapped Wednesday afternoon. He ended up with four earned runs while the Dodgers offense waited for their bats to wake up.
Cue the fifth inning. The Sox were up 4-0 as the Dodgers’ rally was about to “swing” off. The Los Angeles roster batted around and ended the inning up 6-4, including a two-run double off Muncy’s bat. And Max was just getting warmed up.
The White Sox answered with a home run of their own in the bottom of the fifth from third baseman Jake Burger making it a one-run game.
Dodgers left fielder Gavin Lux led off the sixth inning rally with a single to first base. He ultimately slugged out four hits and a walk, making him the first Dodger to reach base five times in a game this season.
No one could have scripted what happened next. With Dodgers’ first baseman Freddie Freeman on second base after already driving in a run, shortstop Trea Turner came up to the plate. White Sox manager Tony La Russa would later come under media fire – social and otherwise – for his decision to intentionally walk Turner with a 1-2 count, bringing Muncy to the plate.
Fans know how fiery Muncy can be. He took exception to La Russa’s decision, channeling that energy into a three-run home run to left-center field; this, on the third anniversary of his famous “Go get it out of the ocean” home run off of (then) San Francisco Giants left-hander Madison Bumgarner.
It was apparent that Muncy was fired up as he rounded the bases, and definitely would have something to say about it in his postgame interview with SportsNet LA’s Kirsten Watson. Although now a lot less worked up and a little more careful with his words, the Midland, TX native once again had choice words about his latest epic home run.
“I wanted to make them pay. I’ll just leave it at that,” Muncy said with a grin.
Muncy went on to say how special the day was in light of his recent struggles this season and his lingering elbow issues.
“Yeah, just because of the moment and how the situation unfolded, that one felt especially good,” Muncy shared. “The most important thing is we got the team win and that’s really all I care about.”
After the game, Tony La Russa defended his decision to the media regarding intentionally walking Trea Turner on a 1-2 count saying that it “wasn’t a tough call.” Dodgers Manager Dave Roberts was later asked to share his perspective as well.
“That’s something I hadn’t seen before,” the Dodgers skipper said. “Obviously Tony knows his guys and he’s a Hall of Fame manager so he just felt that, you know, Trea has obviously dominated left-handed pitching throughout his entire career. You know, Max has struggled at this point. So I guess he liked it, I hadn’t seen it, but I’m not going to be the one to question Tony La Russa.”
A homer, a double, and five runs batted in is not a bad homecoming for Muncy. To say Roberts was proud of his second baseman would be an understatement.
“This is a clean slate,” Roberts said proudly. “This is a new season for him. That’s something that I really want him to take to heart. And just seeing what he did as far as the production was one thing, which is great, but I just thought today his whole mindset was clear, refreshed, and I do think that has something to do with the results today. So obviously he came up huge for us.”
Here’s to hoping that Muncy can hold onto this momentum and the team can keep driving in more runs as we approach the All-Star Break.
Let’s go Dodgers!