3 Homer Games… Rare But Fun To Watch… Grand Slams Even Better.
The last time we saw a Dodger hit 3 Home Runs in a game was last season when Mookie went deep against the Padres 3 times at Dodger Stadium last August. And there we no fans out there to catch them. Twenty-seven times in Dodger history, a player has hit 3 or more in a game. Only…
The last time we saw a Dodger hit 3 Home Runs in a game was last season when Mookie went deep against the Padres 3 times at Dodger Stadium last August. And there we no fans out there to catch them. Twenty-seven times in Dodger history, a player has hit 3 or more in a game. Only two players, Shawn Green and Gil Hodges ever hit four. I saw four hit against the Dodgers once. A few years ago in a game at Dodger Stadium when J.D. Martinez was with Arizona. And I remember well Dave Kingman’s 3 HR performance against L.A. simply because of the interview with Tommy Lasorda after the game which instantly became a classic.
In Dodger history, only four players have done it twice in a Dodger uniform. Duke Snider, Shawn Green, Adrian Gonzalez, and Corey Seager. They victimized the Braves and the Padres 4 times each. They got the Braves in each of the three cities they have played in. Hodges in Boston, Snider in Milwaukee, and Seager and Turner in Atlanta. The Giants three times. The Cardinals, Reds, and Cubs all twice.
Here is the list of players who did it, Hodges, Green, Fournier, Hermanski, Snider, Campanella, Brown, Demeter, Wynn, Lopes, Snyder, Piazza, Elster, Choi, Ethier, Uribe, Gonzalez, Seager, Grandal, Puig, Turner, Pollock and Betts. I watched the game on TV when Cory Snyder did it. Same with Puig and Pollock. Puig did it in St. Louis. I hardly remember Kevin Elster ever being in a Dodger uni. I also thought the trade for He Sop Choi was a really bad one. Choi and Ethier both did it against AL teams in interleague games.
I thought Muncy might do it this season, but he fell short. The guy I have always felt has the best shot is Bellinger, if he ever gets his mojo back. I would love to see Betts do it again because if he does, he will set an MLB record for the most times hitting 3 homers in a game. He is currently one of three players who have done it six times. Pretty exclusive company.
I know Turner set the record for post-season homers at 12 last season, passing Snider who had 11. But all of Dukes were in World Series games. A lot more pressure there. And he hit four in a Series twice. Still a record. So, who are the top candidates to hit 3 again? I would say, Betts, Muncy, Bellinger, and Seager. But whether Seager does it in a Dodger uni remains to be seen. Another possible candidate is Will Smith. He does have the power. And if he gets two early in a game, he has the patience.
I was surprised Joc never did it. He hit two a few times. And one time at Dodger Stadium, missed his 3rd by () this much when his drive bounced off the top of the wall and came back into play. Grand Slams are always great to see also. And LA has hit 9 I think this year. And they had two in a game earlier this season and did that twice. Pollock and Beaty did it first in Milwaukee.
The record for the most Grand Slams for a career as a Dodger is 14. That is held by Gil Hodges. Most in MLB history is 25 by Alex Rodriguez. Most in a season is 6, with Mattingly and Travis Hafner holding that title, interestingly, those were the only 6 of Mattingly’s career. NL record of 5 held by Pujols and Ernie Banks. In World Series play, the Dodgers were on the wrong end of a Grand Slam 5 times and have never hit one in Series play. In playoffs they have given up four and hit five.
So, who will hit the next Dodger Slam? No matter who if they do it this season, it will be a record for the most in a season. Turner’s this season was the first of his career. I have seen them hit a lot of HRs in a game on TV, and once when I went to Dodger Stadium in the late ’70s, they hit 7 in a game. They crushed the Reds that day.
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Discussion (89)
Disagree, not disagreeable
In years past both Urias and Kersh had awesome moves to first and no one ever ran on them. Don’t know what’s up this year. My Trojans got Bellinger’d last night! Well at least Belli plays great D! This should finally put an end to the Clay Helton era! And you guys complain about Roberts!!!!
I was impressed with Bellinger changing his stance. Not only did he widen his feet, but he did not lay the bat back on his shoulder, instead it was up around his ear, pointing up. Lux and Betts had the only hits. Strange line. 5 runs on 4 hits. 4 ribbies for Mookie. Dodger pitchers did not do a very good job of holding the Padres runners.
What about Kike’s performance in the 2017 NLCS Game 5 – 3 home runs INCLUDING a grand slam!
I expect Treinen and Jansen not being available today. Both pitched two days in a row .
My nod to close the game if we get the chance is mean Joe Kelly. That was awesome last night.
Lux going oppo was a good sign. If not for that great play on Friday to rob him of extra bases he would have collected his third hit since his return already.
Though he probably will not start today vs a tough lefty in Snell I hope he sees a lot of playing time until AJ comes back .
Go Dodgers!!!!!!!!!!!!
What a sad game baseball has become. How the hell do you pull a guy who’s thrown 8 innings of no hit ball with 14 strikeouts with a 3 run lead and just 3 outs to go?
We all got to see the real Gavin Lux last night. I love his athleticism and his sweet swing. The hitting is clearly in his head.
Belli took a day off yesterday to work on his hitting. They widened his stance a little and instead of coming up with a bunch of zeros, he picked up a couple of “1’s” in his box. Baby steps I guess.
Mookie came up with the big hit a three run bomb that proved to be the difference in the game. He feels like trying to make it home after you picked up a nail in your tire. You drive steady with your fingers crossed, hoping to get to your destination before the tire blows out.
Bueller was mostly awesome, but wasn’t completely on his game. His performance was, however, good enough to get the job done.
Justin Turner and Corey Seager made more than a few really smooth plays between them last night. The defense overall has enough talent to make great plays and look like a top defensive team when it matters.
Doc did a masterful job navigating the bullpen last night. Treinen didn’t have it, at it took some balls to pull him for Kelly with the tying run at third with just one out. Kelly accepted the challenge and struck out Myers on 4 pitches and Profar on three. Smith blocked a couple of those pitches with Tatis on 3rd helping strand the tying run. Jansen made the save look routine by grounding out Caratini on two sliders, popping Nola and striking out Grisham on a sinker after 4 straight cutters. Damn, I’m beginning to trust him again.
In case you missed it, the Padres have now dropped 5 straight games to Big Brother and it’s not looking any better for them with Scherzer on the bump today. Unfortunately for Scherzer and the Dodgers, our kryptonite, Blake Snell will be on the other side. I’m anticipating a weird lineup for the Dodgers as no doubt the nerds will be looking for some kind of competitive advantage. Maybe former teammate Steven Souza Jr. will help throw Snell off his game. Maybe the Dodgers will go off script and start Will Smith who has 4 hits in 10 ABs off Snell. Will they sit Muncy who is 0-9 lifetime against him in favor of Albert? Or, will they stop with all the rest and just go with regulars?
Corey Snyder…..that’s the Snyder I thought was Snider. Got them reversed for some reason….and it’s not old age. 68 is not old! Lol
A few points from last night:
1. Joe Kelly….are you kidding me? He is the man!
2. Kenley Jansen….I apologize for having you buried. I was wrong. Please forgive me.
3. Gavin Lux….I think your dismal performance this year has hurt me more than anyone else’s because I so very much wanted you to succeed and be the man you were in the minors. I am going to go back to believing in you…and that just after one game. Yea, I’m quick to forgive and I don’t hold grudges.
4. Mookie Betts….we need many more Mookie moments like last night.
5. Buehler….nice comeback. Phew! I didn’t want to see two clunkers in a row.
Snell v Scherzer….wow, this could be a preview of you know what?
TM