Dodgers demolish Yankees behind Max Muncy's two-homer barrage

LOS ANGELES — The Dodgers scored 18 runs on Dave Roberts’ birthday, winning the first two games of their weekend series against the Yankees with a dominant 18-2 victory on Saturday afternoon at Dodger Stadium in front of 51,746 fans.

So far in the series, the Dodgers have outscored the Yankees 26-7. Shohei Ohtani didn't hit a home run today, but he went 2-for-4 with two singles, scoring twice and striking out once.

New York fans tried to rally at Dodger Stadium, but they couldn't get anything going. Aaron Judge provided the only runs for the Yankees with two solo home runs, hitting his 20th in the fourth inning and his 21st in the eighth inning. 

Right-hander Landon Knack delivered six strong innings, giving up five hits and one run, with the exception of one poor pitch to Judge. Knack (3-2, 4.58 ERA) recorded six strikeouts and issued three walks on 102 pitches.

Unfortunately for the Yankees, that was the extent of their scoring as they were overwhelmed by the Dodgers’ offense.

The Dodgers had a remarkable performance, collecting 21 total hits, including five home runs. Max Muncy was a standout player, contributing two of those home runs. Notably, he hit his 200th career home run during the second inning, with both of his home runs being three-run shots.

“We’ve been pretty steady for several weeks. We’ve been scoring a lot of runs. We’ve been putting together a lot of really good at-bats,” Muncy said. “That’s all we can do on the offensive side, is try to stay within our game."

Max Muncy had an impressive game, driving in seven runs, including an RBI single in the first inning. He finished the game with a 3-for-6 batting performance, featuring two home runs. Over his last 15 games, Muncy is hitting .298 with four home runs and 22 runs batted in. 

The New York Yankees' pitching staff struggled to contain the Los Angeles Dodgers, who scored 10 runs in the first two innings. 

Right-hander Will Warren pitched 1 ⅓ innings, allowing six hits, seven runs, and four walks on 57 pitches. The Dodgers batted around in the first inning, quickly building a 4-0 lead. In the second inning, they added six more runs. Yankees manager Aaron Boone was forced to rely on his bullpen, utilizing a total of seven pitchers. Second baseman Pablo Reyes took the mound in the eighth inning, where he allowed five hits and three more runs.

Dalton Rushing hit his first career home run, sending the ball into the right field pavilion off Reyes. After the game, Rushing mentioned that he wasn't particularly impressed by hitting his first home run off a position player.

“It’s a different one, for sure, hitting it off a position player,” Rushing said. “It’s obviously a cool feeling. Moving forward, look forward to getting my first one off a real pitcher.”

Rushing mentioned that he considered grabbing Ohtani's bat before his at-bat in the eighth inning. However, he decided to use his own bat instead after Will Smith encouraged him to do so. As a result, Rushing hit a three-run home run out of the park.

Hyeseong Kim started at shortstop on Saturday and batted ninth in the lineup, delivering an outstanding performance. He went 4-for-4 at the plate, with two singles, one double, one home run, and a walk.

The momentum the Dodgers carried throughout the game was impressive, and Roberts acknowledged that Kim played a major role in Saturday's success.

"There's just something about him. That youthful enthusiasm, that joy, he's just happy to be out there, happy to be on the team,” Roberts said. “Guys feed off the energy. He takes really good at-bats, he competes."

Roberts announced that Kim will not be in the lineup on Sunday but will start on Monday night against the New York Mets.

Despite achieving a season-high 21 hits, the Dodgers continue to face challenges with injuries. Mookie Betts remains day-to-day after injuring his toe on Wednesday. The incident occurred when Betts was walking to the bathroom in the dark and stubbed his left toe.

Betts, 32, is currently dealing with pain. He is struggling to put his shoe on his left foot due to a significant amount of pain. Roberts believes Betts will not need to go on the injured list. While he will not be playing this weekend against the Yankees, he may participate in the upcoming four-game series against the New York Mets.

After receiving X-rays on Friday, it was revealed that Betts has a fracture in his toe. He realized the injury had worsened when he attempted to put on his shoe. Betts reached out to Roberts on Friday morning to express his concerns about his toe. Roberts remains optimistic that Betts will not need to be added to the injured list.

Additionally, Ohtani is making significant progress in his recovery and is getting closer to returning to the mound for the Dodgers, potentially pitching for the first time in almost two years. Ohtani threw two innings and around 30 pitches, recording one strikeout and allowing a few hard-hit line drives.

“Shohei looked good, he threw 30 pitches and used his entire mix,” Roberts said. “I think he wishes his command could've been better, but really positive day for sure.”

Roberts mentioned that Ohtani's workload will be increasing, and he should be ready to pitch an additional two or three innings next Saturday.

The Dodgers could certainly benefit from Ohtani, but the question remains whether he can return to being the dynamic pitcher he was during his time with the Los Angeles Angels. This season, Ohtani is having an outstanding offensive performance, leading the league in home runs and runs scored while batting .298.

With the series concluding on Sunday evening, the Dodgers will aim to sweep the Yankees. They will start right-hander Yoshinobu Yamamoto (6-3, 1.97 ERA), while the Yankees will counter with former Dodger left-hander Ryan Yarbrough (2-0, 3.06 ERA) on Sunday Night Baseball.