The Los Angeles Dodgers called up top prospect Gavin Lux to make his Major League debut on Monday night, and he sparked the offense as they cruised to a 16-9 victory over the Colorado Rockies in their series opener at Coors Field.
Lux has been talked about for a while now as he was tearing the cover off the ball at Triple-A Oklahoma City before earning the promotion. He picked up right where he left off in the Minors, hitting the first big league pitch he saw for a single up the middle in the bottom of the second. He then doubled in his second at-bat and finished 2-for-5, marking the first Dodger to score three runs in his debut in the process.
He was far from the only Dodgers player to find success at the plate on Monday though, which was evident by their 17-hit, 16-run outburst. The Dodgers also slugged seven home runs, which was their most since Opening Day when they hit eight.
Joc Pederson got the party started by hitting a leadoff homer off Peter Lambert to begin the bottom of the first. Trevor Story also hit a leadoff home run for the Rockies, so this marks the second time in the last eight days that Pederson has matched the opposing leadoff man (D.J. LeMahieu).
Pederson had an outstanding night, hitting two home runs and also a double off the top of the wall, finishing with five RBI. He also robbed Charlie Blackmon of a home run in the fifth but ran into the wall in the process and wound up leaving the game with an abdominal contusion.
Chris Taylor had two of the Dodgers’ seven homers. He hit solo shots in the fourth and seventh innings to give him 11 for the year, marking the 11th player on the team to have 10 or more, which sets a franchise record.
His second home run came back-to-back with Cody Bellinger’s 44th of the season, which regained the Major League lead. Matt Beaty and Corey Seager also went deep in the offensive onslaught.
It wasn’t Walker Buehler’s finest night on the mound for the Dodgers but he battled through five innings to earn his 12th victory of the season. He allowed eight hits and six runs while striking out five.
Kenta Maeda was just moved to the bullpen before Monday’s game and Dodgers manager Dave Roberts did not waste any time getting him into the game. Maeda pitched the final four innings, allowing three innocent runs to earn his fourth career save.
