Max

Muncy

Muncy also hit another ball to the wall that Eli White made a great play on before crashing to the wall, and he had a 108-mph lineout in the fourth. He’s batting .273/.372/.547, though quite remarkably, he has just 15 RBI on the season. His 35 hits have driven in a total of five teammates.

Muncy doubled in the top of the second inning to drive home Andy Pages and give the Dodgers their first run of the night. On a night where Shohei Ohtani went 0-for-5 at the plate, Muncy’s double was one of the very few bright spots for the Dodgers’ offense on Friday. He has now it safely in seven of his last eight games, and is slashing .353/.441/.745 over his last 15 games with five homers and eight RBI.

Muncy homered and walked twice before being replaced by pinch-runner Santiago Espinal. Normally, that would be a downgrade — Muncy runs better than Espinal — but it seemingly was a nod to Muncy being under the weather.

Muncy and Dalton Rushing both hit a pair of homers, with Muncy’s coming off Jose Quintana and Tanner Gordon. Remarkably, Muncy now has eight homers on the season, but only nine RBI. Seems impossible, but to say the 35-year-old is off to a hot start is an understatement. Those RBI totals should continue to rise for Muncy playing in the loaded Dodgers lineup.

Muncy obliterated a 2-1 cutter from Tomoyuki Sugano in the second inning for a 452-foot (107.9 mph EV) solo shot that made it a 2-0 ballgame. He then smacked an RBI double in the third inning that made it 3-0. Muncy also tagged Zach Agnos for a 419-foot (105.2 mph EV) solo shot in the fifth that made it 6-1. It’s already Muncy’s second multi-homer game of the young season. He’s off to a terrific start at the dish, slashing .254/.338/.556 with six homers and seven RBI in his first 71 plate appearances.

Glasnow took Kumar Rocker deep twice in the first four innings, but he saved his biggest blow for the ninth, hitting a solo homer with two outs off lefty Jacob Latz. It was Muncy’s second career three-homer game and first with five runs scored, as he also crossed home plate after a single and reaching on a forceout. He entered the night with just one RBI in 11 games, and he still hasn’t plated anyone besides himself, as all of tonight’s homers were solo shots. However, he has scored 11 runs for the 10-3 Dodgers.

Muncy drew a walk in the second inning, then took Kolby Allard deep for a solo homer in the sixth, a 410-foot blast at 108.1 mph off the bat. He added a base hit in the eighth and scored a second run, reaching for the third time in the contest. The 35-year-old slugger is a safe bet for power in a potent lineup as long as he can avoid the injured list.

Muncy will sit again with southpaw Eduardo Rodriguez getting the nod for the D-backs Saturday evening. Santiago Espinal will draw the start at the hot corner and hit seventh. Alex Freeland is also out of the lineup, with Miguel Rojas hitting ninth and lined up at the keystone.

Throughout the spring, the second base position had been framed as a platoon situation between Santiago Espinal and Alex Freeland, so naturally it’s Rojas who gets the start there on Opening Day. It’s likely just manager Dave Roberts respecting and giving the nod to the 37-year-old veteran for Opening Day. Here’s the full lineup against Zac Gallen on Opening Day: Shohei Ohtani (DH), Kyle Tucker (RF), Mookie Betts (SS), Freddie Freeman (1B), Will Smith (C), Max Muncy (3B), Teoscar Hernandez (LF), Andy Pages (CF) and Miguel Rojas (2B).

Muncy reached on a fielder’s choice in the opening inning and scored on Santiago Espinal’s two-run double. He then tagged Reds’ starter Nick Lodolo for a 395-foot (106.9 mph EV) two-run shot in the third inning that increased the Dodgers’ lead to 6-3. The 35-year-old slugger has been sizzling as the dish, hitting .333 (7-for-21) with a pair of homers and four RBI in Cactus League play.