Welcome to The Opener, where every weekday morning during the regular season you’ll get a fresh, topical story to start your day from one of SI.com’s MLB writers.
When Cody Bellinger stepped to the plate in the seventh inning of Sunday’s game against the Padres, he had already done more than his part for the cause. The Dodgers’ center fielder had hit safely in each of the first two games of the series—both wins—and homered in the third inning of the finale to stake Los Angeles to an early lead. Then, he made history.
Bellinger took Luis García deep for his second home run of the game, becoming the first player in Dodgers history to have two multi-home run games against the Padres in the same season. If that sounds like too niche of an accomplishment to merit a mention, well, that’s understandable. But considering the slide Bellinger has been on for the better part of the past three seasons, any milestone is worth celebrating. As the Dodgers prepare for yet another postseason run, though, there are signs that the former MVP is, if not turning a corner, then at least approaching one.
