Max Muncy added to his hot stretch with another home run but was removed early in the Los Angeles Dodgers’ 8-5 win that completed a season series sweep of the Minnesota Twins.
The Dodgers additionally went undefeated on their homestand (5-0), extended a season-best winning streak to 10 games and swept a third consecutive series. Their 13-4 record in Interleague play this year is also tied with the Milwaukee Brewers for best in baseball.
Muncy led off the second inning with a line-drive home run that had enough carry to just clear the short fence in right field. Cody Bellinger later contributed a sacrifice fly that extended the Dodgers’ lead to 2-0.
However, it was wiped away in the third inning when Jorge Polanco hit the first of the Twins’ two home runs off Ryan Pepiot. Gary Sánchez led off the fifth a homer that put Minnesota up 4-2.
Pepiot was removed with one out in the inning and responsible for the runner on first base. Alex Vesia got into a bases-loaded jam behind a walk and hard-hit infield single that Muncy took off his chest and presumably was behind being removed in the bottom of the fifth.
Vesia escaped the trouble unscathed, which seemingly set the Dodgers off on a rally. They tied the game behind an RBI single from Trea Turner and Will Smith’s run-scoring double.
Chris Taylor’s solo home run in the sixth inning provided the Dodgers with a decided lead, and Joey Gallo had what ultimately proved to be the difference with a pinch-hit, three-run homer in the seventh. The home run was Gallo’s first with the Dodgers.
He and Edwin Ríos (May 9) have the only two Dodgers pinch-hit home runs this season.
Craig Kimbrel allowed a two-out double and a run came across on a wild pitch.
Dodgers break own attendance record
Freddie Freeman bobblehead night at Dodger Stadium drew an announced attendance of 53,432. That gave the Dodgers their 13th sellout of the season and the single-game attendance high for any 2022 MLB game thus far.
The Dodgers previously set the MLB attendance mark in a July 21 matchup against the San Francisco Giants, which drew a crowd of 53,165. That was then broken for Clayton Kershaw bobblehead night, which had a 53,302 announced attendance.
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