Max Effort: Muncy grand slam leads Dodgers to rain-soaked win

WASHINGTON, DC — Take that, All-Star voters! Even though no Dodgers were selected as starters for the Mid-summer Classic on Thursday night, the Los Angelenos became the second NL team to hit the 50-victory mark, at exactly the midpoint of the season. They fell behind early, but then rode a huge fifth inning to 6-2 win against the Nats. The big blow: a no-doubt grand slam from ridiculous All-Star snub Max Muncy. Freddie Freeman, indeed!

Soto drives home game’s first run

The game had to be one of those “play-it-by-ear” affairs, as the weatherman said that rain storms would be rolling in mid-game. So, instead of starting Tony Gonsolin, manager Dave Roberts went with Victor Gonzalez, especially to put a little water on the raging inferno of Kyle Schwarber, who has a hit something like 84 homeruns in the last two weeks. Not quite that, but his sixteen jacks in June are second only to Sammy Sosa‘s chemically-aided 20 homers in a month in 1998. Gonzalez was able to keep the lefthanded-hitting Schwarber in the yard, but he did rip a lead-off double to start the game. One batter later, Juan Soto ripped a single to score Schwarber with the game’s first run.

Dodgers tie it up with some small ball

The Dodgers were able to scratch one across in the fourth to tie it up. Chris Taylor led off with single, and then Justin Turner hit a fielder’s choice grounder to third. However, third baseman Josh Harrison‘s throw to second was wide, and Taylor was able to sneak in under Alex Avila‘s tag. After a flyout from Max Muncy, Albert Pujols came to the plate and did what Albert Pujols does: he drove in a run. He took a 2-2 pitch from Nats starter Patrick Corbin the other way and punched a ground ball to the right side, where the shift had vacated the second base hole. Bingo. Tie ball game.

In the bottom of the fourth, the Nats got the run right back to take the lead again. Josh Bell reached on a single, and then took second on a passed ball from Tony Gonsolin, who had entered the game in the second inning. One batter later and Starlin Castro singled to center, and it was heat weakly enough that the hefty Bell was able to lumber home before Cody Bellinger could collect the ball. 2-1 Nats.

Dodgers take five in the fifth

Now trailing by one, the Dodgers tried to get back on the board in the top of the fifth. It didn’t take long. On the second pitch of the inning, AJ Pollock stroked a Corbin slider to deep right. It just cleared the fence out of the reach of left fielder Kyle Schwarber. Tie ball game.

But the Dodgers weren’t satisfied with just a tie. They were hungry for more. After a couple of singles and a walk, the bases were loaded with only one out. Max Muncy stepped to the plate with the bags juiced with Dodgers. He whiffed on the first pitch, a slow slider from Corbin, but when Corbin tried to sneak a second slider by him, he did not miss. He walloped a no-doubt grand slam to right center, blowing the game wide open.

Rains put an end to the Nats’ misery

The teams were able to get in another half inning of play before the Washington skies opened up and the rain started to come down. Garrett Cleavinger was able to throw a scoreless bottom of the fifth, and then the tarps came out. And the rain kept coming. At about 7:20 local time, the umpires called the game, and it was official. The Dodgers win 6-2 in five. Just barely an official game, but it counts every bit as much as a twelve-inning walk-off in the scorebook.

Friday, the Dodgers will start their day with a visit to the White House, after which they will try to play some baseball, weather permitting. Julio Urias will have his work cut out for him, as he faces the other Mad Max, Mr. Scherzer. The three-time Cy Young winner is having a great year, but in the last year of his deal, so has been rumored to be trade bait if the Nats don’t get any closer to first place by the end of the month. Should be a good match-up and luckily, most of the bullpen pieces were saved by the rain and will be available for duty on Friday night.