HRs from Muncy, Belli, Ríos good signs

The Dodgers have been a win machine this season, but some of their best takeaways have come from losses.

The Sept. 14 defeat by the upstart Padres, with Trent Grisham showing up Clayton Kershaw, was a wake-up call. And if you look past rocky outings by relievers Joe Kelly and Blake Treinen, a 6-4 loss to the A’s Wednesday night featured home runs from left-handed sluggers Max Muncy, Cody Bellinger and Edwin Ríos, all against left-handed pitchers.

• Box score

“It speaks to having a great team that other guys can pick them up and haven’t really missed a beat in terms of our offensive totals,” club president Andrew Friedman told SportsNet LA.

“Obviously, when we get those guys going, it’s as dynamic an offense as I’ve ever been around. Watching Cody, watching Muncy, you’re starting to see some signs that they’re breaking out of it. We haven’t questioned the talent and we see how hard they’re working, and that makes us that much more comfortable to bet on the fact that when the lights turn on and it really matters, they’ll be there.”

The Dodgers’ OPS against left-handers is more than 100 points lower than against right-handers this year, which means October opponents will be stacking their pitching staffs with southpaws. A few days ago, manager Dave Roberts said he didn’t think his club could win the World Series if the season-long slumps of Muncy and Bellinger continued.

Both are heating up at the right time. Muncy homered for the second consecutive game. Bellinger has an eight-game hitting streak with five extra-base hits.

“Muncy squared up a couple of balls, Cody hitting a homer tonight, Eddie [Ríos] coming off the bench [and] hitting a homer -- there were a lot of good things tonight,” said Roberts.

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Muncy, who signed a multi-year contract during the offseason, was hit by a pitch on a finger at the start of Summer Camp and has never approached the 35-homer threat he was the previous two years. He came into this game hitting .191 and was reflective on his season after Tuesday night’s clinching.

“It’s been a rough stretch, but thankfully it’s not about me, it’s about this team,” said Muncy, who has received two months of confidence building from Roberts. “It means a lot to me, knowing that he has confidence in me and I’m doing the right things, just not getting the results. The ultimate goal is for the team to win, not for you to win personally. Once you realize that, it makes it a little easier.”

Roberts said when he sees an All-Star player as frustrated as Muncy has appeared, it’s the manager’s job to offer support.

“He’s an All-Star player that hasn’t gotten untracked yet, so I always think it’s a good thing to let the player know we’re all in this together,” said Roberts. “There’s some things mechanically he hasn’t been able to lock down, but I think last night was a good sign. He’s taking his walks. He’s trending in the right direction and I expect him to be peaking at the right time.

“As far as his ability to control the strike zone, that’s something I’d hang my hat on. When you’re talking about in the postseason, you’re seeing 1’s and 2’s and 3’s [starting pitchers] and top-end bullpen guys, controlling the strike zone is very important. That’s something I know Max does a really good job of.”

Bellinger is in the bad year of an odd/even pattern. He was Rookie of the Year in 2017 and MVP in ‘19, but struggled to become a platoon player in ‘18 and only recently has started to pick it up again, his average now only .239 after he hit .305 last year.

Ríos is hitting only .236, but if Justin Turner must nurse a tender left hamstring muscle and stay in the lineup, he can be designated hitter with Ríos picking up starts at third base. Despite the low average, Ríos is slugging .569 this year and .588 in his brief career, making him a threat if he can handle the better pitchers he will face in the postseason.