Bellinger soaks in moment after decisive grand slam

LOS ANGELES -- The odds were not in Cody Bellinger’s favor when he stepped to the plate with the bases loaded and the score tied in the bottom of the eighth inning on Friday night at Dodger Stadium.

There were two outs. To that point, Bellinger was 0-for-3 on the night. A left-hander, the Giants’ Sam Long, was on the mound. The odds swung even further against Bellinger as he went down 0-2 quickly.

The Dodgers’ center fielder battled to stay alive, fouling off the next three pitches he saw. Then came pitch No. 6 -- a hanging curveball.

Bellinger connected, driving the ball down the right-field line and just inside the foul pole for a game-winning grand slam as the Dodgers defeated the Giants, 5-1.

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“It feels great,” said Bellinger, who now has seven career grand slams. “Not gonna lie, it feels really good. It feels good to put the right swing on the ball and see the results.”

Breaking a tie in front of a packed house against your team’s biggest rival will always be exciting. But the home run was big for Bellinger in a number of ways, including the fact that he hadn’t hit one out since July 1 -- a span of 15 games and 56 plate appearances.

Manager Dave Roberts spoke to the quality of Bellinger’s recent at-bats, citing a crucial walk he drew in the eighth inning of Thursday’s win over the Giants as one example. Bellinger, too, feels like he’s getting close to unlocking something.

“I’ve been seeing the ball well and staying within the zone and getting pitches to hit and just not doing what I want with them,” said Bellinger. “But, you know, that's part of the game. So [I’m] focusing on staying through the baseball and getting my ‘A’ swing locked on those pitches.”

While Bellinger remains a defensive asset as one of the game’s most skilled outfielders, he’s still trying to put things together at the plate. Prior to the All-Star break, Bellinger had a slash line of .210/.270/.377 with a 77 OPS+ -- and this is coming on the heels of a tough 2021 campaign (which was impacted by offseason right shoulder surgery).

His splits have been even more pronounced, as he came into Friday’s game with a .188 average and a .509 OPS vs. lefties (as opposed to .217 average and a .709 OPS vs. righties). Of his 11 home runs this season prior to the grand slam, 10 came off of right-handers. However, there was no thought of going to a right-handed pinch-hitter for Bellinger, as Long has pretty extreme reverse splits this year.

That decision paid off.

“I mean, this is a guy that's a former MVP,” said Roberts. “So he knows the moments and he's come out on top of moments and you just got to keep running guys like that out there and believe that it's going to turn. So this is something that might continue to build confidence. I've obviously shown my belief in him, [as have] his teammates, and so it was just really good to see him come through.”

After the grand slam, Bellinger took a curtain call at the urging of his teammates, with Justin Turner pushing him onto the top step. That wasn’t the only acknowledgment Bellinger got, either, as he ran out to his spot in center field alone for the top of the ninth inning, allowing the fans to give him yet another ovation -- bench coach Bob Geren’s idea.

Bellinger said he didn’t know what was happening, but that it was a “cool moment” when he realized.

“Fans were calling for him, and he's been grinding all year, so when you have those moments, you’ve got to enjoy them,” said Roberts. “And the fans have been, certainly, behind him. So to kind of give them a little love and acknowledgement, I think, was a good thing.”