Mad Max the Road Warrior Rides Again In San Francisco
Mad Max the Road Warrior Rides Again In San Francisco – Weekly Recap – May 17-23
When Muncy is on, the Dodgers are on, and boy did Mad Max the Road Warrior ride hard this week with two complete sweeps of division rivals. His season average is bumping up against .300, but his weekly average was .476 with only four walks. Several times this week, Max’s deceptive speed earned him a base.
Muncy vs. the Diamondbacks at Dodger Stadium
May 17 – Muncy’s Worst Game of the Week
Max might have had a case of the Mondays, as this game was a rough one for him. He hit in the three spot, earning a walk in the first, but was left on base on a Pujols flyout. He reached in the 3rd, but only because Diamondbacks shortstop Nick Ahmed couldn’t turn the double play. Left on base again. He didn’t get on base for the rest of the game. Still, when your worst offensive game of the week involves reaching twice…not too shabby.
Muncy started at second for this game, moving to first in the ninth when Albert Pujols came out of the game, a trend we’re likely to see for the rest of the season whenever Pujols starts. Dodgers won over the Diamondbacks 1-3.
May 18 – Hitting Second, At Second
With so many injuries and occasional scratches, the lineup order seems to be in constant flux. Muncy hit second this game, starting once more again at second base as well. Muncy didn’t do much but raise the pitch count in the first against starting pitcher Corbin Martin with a five-pitch foul-tip strikeout. In the third, he reached once more on a hit that should have been a double play but he beat out the slow turning Ahmed.
In the fifth inning, Max hit a line drive single to center, then came around to score on a Chris Taylor 2 RBI home run. He walked in five pitches in the 7th, chasing D-backs reliever Alex Young from the game. CT3 singled and Will Smith walked to load the bases for Albert Pujols, putting Muncy on third. He scored on an Pujols HBP. Pujols seemed ok, but the Dodgers played it safe and replaced him with pinch runner DJ Peters, who stated in the game. Muncy moved to first defensively in the top of the 8th and stayed there for the rest of the game.
Max’s last at-bat was a ground-out that moved Mookie Betts to second base. Mookie then scored from second on a Will Smith grounder to make the final game score 1-9, Dodgers.
May 19 – Staying at Second…and Second
Once more second in the lineup and defensively, Muncy started off with a strikeout but came back in the second with a single that moved Luke Raley to third and chased starter Matt Peacock from the game. He ended up technically stealing second with a great jump, but he slowed down to a walk about ten feet from the bag, perhaps trying to temp Arizona catcher Stephen Vogt into throwing the ball to second so Luke Raley could score from third. Alas, all for naught, as both were left on base after a Turner flyout and a Tsutsugo ground out.
In the seventh, he took a hit-by-pitch to load the bases and chase yet another Diamondback pitcher from the mound – this time reliever Joe Mantiply. Alas, Turner grounded into a double play to end the inning, but the Dodgers won 2-4.
May 20 – Dodgers Complete a Four Game Sweep
Two-spot, 2B start again for Muncy. A groundout in the first, but a single in the third and sixth isn’t bad. What is bad is when Muncy got caught unawares in the sixth while taking a lead from first. Pitcher Merrill Kelly picked off a distracted Muncy for the last out of the inning. I’m guessing Muncy won’t be doing that again any time soon. He made up for it in the 8th with a double that ricocheted off second baser Andrew Young’s glove. He also moved Mookie to third, but both came up LOB on a Turner pop out that Young managed to glove this time.
Muncy vs. the Giants at Oracle Park
May 21 – Off Day for Max…Mostly
The first game of the much-anticipated series was played without Max…until he replaced Pujols in the bottom of the 8th. But because of where Pujols was in the lineup, Muncy did not hit this game. Even without Maxwell’s silver hammer, the Dodgers managed to win 2-1 over the Giants.
May 22- Go Get It Out Of The Large Nearby Body Of Water
Hitting in the 3-spot but still at 2B, Muncy started this game with a literal splash, landing a solo homer into McCovey Cove, putting the Dodgers on top 1-0 in the first. The Dodgers never looked back. Max hit a single in the 4th, then ground into a forceout in the 6th, but his speed (and lack thereof from the bouncing grounder) let him reach first easily.
In the 8th, he reached on a single that also moved Turner to third. Max moved to second on a Pujols RBI single, to third on a Lux forceout, then scored on an Austin Barnes sac but to make the game 6-1. He moved (again) to 1st in the bottom of the 8th when Pujols came out of the game. Dodgers win 6-3.
May 23 – Two Sweeps
Again in the 3-hole, again starting at 2B with a move to first in late innings. Flied out in the first, worked a walk in the third to come around and score on a Matt Beaty RBI single.
Maxwell’s Silver Hammer came down hard once more on Giants pitching, this time on reliever Sam Selman with an eight-pitch leadoff home run in the 4th inning, putting the Dodgers up 11-0 over their longest rivals. The Giants did manage to score five runs off of young relievers, but it wasn’t enough to keep them from getting swept out to sea by the Dodgers offense machine.
Mad Max the Road Warrior Rides Again, Hopefully All The Way To Houston
Max only walked four times this week, but he’s replaced those longer at-bats with power hits. His season OPS is a whopping 1.009 and (hopefully) growing. After an off day today, the Dodgers are headed to Houston, where they face the Astros for the first time with fans in the stands since the cheating scandal broke. It will be on Astros turf, but Dodger fans are known to travel, so who knows what will happen. If his performance in San Francisco is any indication, then the Dodgers should be able to rely on Mad Max’s Road Warrior ways.
All I know is I bless the day that Max Muncy became a Dodger, because look what fun we would have missed out on.
Weekly Stats:
BA: .292
OPS: 1.009
R: 7 (32)
Hits: 10 (42)
RBI: 2 (25)
AB: 21 (144)
BB: 4 (40)
IBB: 0 (4)
2B: 2 (5)
3B: 0 (1)
HR: 2 (10)
SB: 1 (1)
To read about Max’s stellar performance last week, click here.
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