Muncy's water shot sets tone in Dodgers' win

SAN FRANCISCO -- Whenever he’s in San Francisco, Max Muncy likes to make a splash.

Muncy highlighted a three-hit day by launching yet another home run into McCovey Cove’s frigid waters in the Dodgers’ 6-3 win over the Giants on Saturday at Oracle Park, a no-doubter that sent the stadium abuzz.

“I think it’s one of those things that’s really cool in baseball,” Muncy said. “When it comes to seeing where a ball goes, there’s not many ballparks out there where there’s a cool thing to hit it at and that’s one of them -- put it in the water.”

With three Splash Hits in his tenure with the Dodgers, Muncy joins fellow left-handed sluggers Carlos Delgado and Adam LaRoche for the most Splash Hits by an opposing player.

“That’s awesome,” Muncy said. "I actually didn’t know that, so that’s pretty cool.”

Off the crack of the bat, everyone in attendance knew the ball was destined for the water. As Muncy rounded the bases, the partisanship within Oracle Park emerged. The black and orange brigade booed. The visiting stampede of blue cheered.

As the two rival factions fought for vocal supremacy, Oracle Park was filled with the all-too-familiar cacophony that emerges when two bitter rivals battle with their supporters in tow.

While Muncy’s latest Splash Hit was probably the most majestic of the three, it’s far from the most notable. That honor, of course, goes to the one he hit in 2019 off Madison Bumgarner, who took exception to Muncy slowly making his way out of the batter’s box after making contact. Muncy’s retort was simple, yet iconic: “Go get it out of the ocean.”

Technically speaking, McCovey Cove is part of San Francisco Bay, not the nearby Pacific Ocean. Still, in the heat of battle, semantics are thrown out the window.

No such animosity was directed towards Scott Kazmir, who made his first appearance in the Majors since 2016. The only blip on Kazmir’s line was Muncy’s solo shot, but aside from that, the former Dodger held his old team to just that one run across four innings.

“I was happy for Scott,” manager Dave Roberts said. “I know Scotty well and it takes a lot for a guy who’s playing the game, coming back for the love of the game, not for monetary reasons. I give him credit. He made a bad pitch -- Muncy took a good swing on the changeup -- but outside of that, he kept us at bay.”

Given how well Muncy has been swinging the bat lately, seeing him send another ball into McCovey Cove isn’t all too surprising.

Simply put, there’s no one in baseball hotter than Muncy. Since May 5, Muncy is slashing an absurd .440/.541/.800 with five homers. With Cody Bellinger, Corey Seager and Zach McKinstry, among others, on the injured list, Muncy has nearly been single-handedly carrying the offense.

“He’s a key piece to what we’re doing,” Roberts said. “Defensively, offensively, doesn’t matter handedness [of opposing pitchers], he still goes out there and gives you a good at-bat, four good at-bats a night. Drives in runs, gets on base. I don’t talk about injuries very much, but having the consistency of Max, it’s kind of kept us afloat.”

It’s been a complete turnaround for Muncy, who is coming off an absolutely brutal stretch. From April 17 to May 4, Muncy hit .067 with 22 strikeouts across 63 plate appearances. In true Muncy fashion, however, he still put up a .333 on-base percentage during that time thanks to 15 walks.

“I think he’s just going back to just being a really good hitter,” Roberts said. “And really good hitters use the whole field. They swing at strikes, take balls. And when a pitcher makes a mistake with the power he has, he can slug you.”

Muncy clearly has an affinity for the body of water beyond the right-field arcade. With his hot bat, it won’t come as a surprise if he departs San Francisco with more splashdowns than any other opponent in the park’s history.