Muncy homers, Roberts gets 700th win as manager in Dodgers’ 5-2 victory over Pirates

By: Joe Reedy, The Associated Press Posted: 11:58 PM CDT Monday, Jul. 3, 2023 Last Modified: 1:03 AM CDT Tuesday, Jul. 4, 2023

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LOS ANGELES (AP) — Max Muncy not only hit his 19th homer of the season Monday night, he was the first to congratulate Dave Roberts for his 700th win as the Dodgers' manager after Los Angeles' 5-2 in over the Pittsburgh Pirates.

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This article was published 03/07/2023 (839 days ago), so information in it may no longer be current.

LOS ANGELES (AP) — Max Muncy not only hit his 19th homer of the season Monday night, he was the first to congratulate Dave Roberts for his 700th win as the Dodgers’ manager after Los Angeles’ 5-2 in over the Pittsburgh Pirates.

Even if it took a couple minutes for Roberts to realize it.

“Muncy and a couple people came through the line and said congratulations. I had no idea what they were talking about until I got to the office,” Roberts said. “Just happy to win a baseball game tonight. You have good player and a great organization.”

Pittsburgh Pirates starting pitcher Mitch Keller throws to the plate during the first inning of a baseball game against the Los Angeles Dodgers Monday, July 3, 2023, in Los Angeles. (AP Photo/Mark J. Terrill)

Roberts is 700-416 in his eighth season as LA’s skipper that includes three trips to the World Series and a title in 2020.

Jason Heyward and Miguel Rojas had RBI doubles to help the Dodgers bounce back after dropping the last two games in a weekend series at Kansas City.

Muncy went deep for the first time since June 2. He has struggled at the plate since hitting 11 home runs in April.

Muncy missed 11 games last month with a left hamstring strain and was 3 for 21 since coming off the injured list.

He led off the second with a solo shot to center on a full-count fastball up in the zone from Mitch Keller (9-4) that tied the game at 1.

“No doubt it’s been a grind for me,” said Muncy, who is hitting .195. “I’ve had a lot of home runs, but I haven’t been anywhere close to the hitter I know I can be. I’m still just trying to make some adjustments to get back to doing that.”

Caleb Ferguson (5-3), the second of six Los Angeles pitchers, got the win. Michael Grove, who was called up before the game when Clayton Kershaw went on the injured list, got the start and went four innings.

Evan Phillips worked the ninth for his 12th save

The Pirates have dropped three straight as they left nine on base and were 2 for 9 with runners in scoring position.

“Mitch wasn’t sharp, we didn’t play sharp defensively. Overall, we didn’t play a sharp game,” manager Derek Shelton said.

Pittsburgh got on the board in the second inning when Nick Gonzales scored after Jared Triolo lined a base hit into right field.

The Dodgers answered back with two in the home half. Two batters after Muncy’s homer, David Peralta doubled to left-center and scored when Heyward’s sharp grounder ricocheted off the glove of Pirates first baseman Carlos Santana into shallow right field for what was scored a double.

Los Angeles added a run in the fourth. Miguel Vargas got aboard with two out after he was hit by pitch and then scored on Rojas’ double off the wall in left-center.

The Dodgers extended their lead to 5-1 in the fifth on Peralta’s RBI base hit and when Will Smith scored after Santana was unable to field Heyward’s grounder.

The Pirates got one back in the sixth when Henry Davis came home on Austin Hedges’ sacrifice fly.

Los Angeles Dodgers manager Dave Roberts laughs as he walks through the dugout prior to a baseball game against the Pittsburgh Pirates Monday, July 3, 2023, in Los Angeles. (AP Photo/Mark J. Terrill)

A LOADED SECOND

Both teams had the bases loaded with two outs in the second but were unable to convert.

Dodgers’ first baseman Freddie Freeman had a hand in both.

He ended the Pirates’ inning after fielding Josh Palacios’ grounder. Then, as the eighth batter up in the Dodgers’ half, Freeman was unable to extend their lead by grounding out to third baseman Triolo.

TRAINER’S ROOM

Pirates: 3B Ke’Bryan Hayes (low back inflammation) took batting practice and fielded grounders before the game. Manager Derek Shelton is optimistic that Hayes could be back on Wednesday or shortly after, when he is eligible to come off the injured list.