SAN FRANCISCO — When Max Muncy was struggling last season, out of whack at the plate because of a lingering elbow injury that contributed to woeful inconsistency, the Dodgers’ slugger added a back step to his hitting mechanics.
It immediately worked wonders for his swing.
Amid another slow start during the first couple of weeks this season, Muncy brought back a smaller version of his left-foot plant in the Dodgers’ first meeting with the San Francisco Giants this season Monday night.
The result: a three-run homer in the third, a grand slam in the seventh and a career-high seven runs batted in to lead the Dodgers to a much-needed 9-1 win at Oracle Park.
For the 11th game of the season, Monday’s win felt like a relatively important result for the Dodgers (6-5).
It kept them from slipping under .500 after a three-game weekend losing streak, a record they haven’t had beyond the opening series of a season since 2018. It also shook off the frustration of their series loss in Arizona to start this two-city trip, a stop in which they were battered by a young Diamondbacks lineup.
“Being in Arizona again, it was like an extension of spring,” manager Dave Roberts said. “And I think we played like that.”
The Dodgers set a different tone Monday night.
Mookie Betts led off the game with a home run to left, part of a three-hit display that extended his career dominance over Giants starter Logan Webb (Betts is now 12 for 26 versus Webb in his career, including the postseason).
Staff ace Julio Urías rectified the Dodgers’ pitching woes, as well, rising to the occasion with a six-inning, one-run, eight-strikeout display that lowered his career earned-run average against the Giants to 2.09 (third best for an opponent he has started against more than three times).
Muncy took care of the rest.
After entering the game with a .121 batting average (but also seven walks, which were tied for second most on the team), the eighth-year veteran got in a two-out hitter’s count with two aboard in the third inning.
In a 2-and-1 hole, Webb tried to place a slider at the knees. Muncy instead timed it perfectly, planting his back left foot with a brief, rhythmic step before crushing the ball 405 feet.
A similar scene played out in the seventh.
With the bases loaded against right-handed reliever Sean Hjelle, Muncy attacked an elevated first-pitch sinker, taking his back-step again before unloading for his third career grand slam.
Muncy, who also added a single and a walk, hadn’t been using his back step this season, calling it more of a temporary Band-Aid for his mechanics than a permanent fix.
“I had to revamp my swing last year,” Muncy explained this spring. “And now we’re un-revamping it to get it simpler again.”
When the back step returned Monday, however, so did the most potent version of the 32-year-old’s swing.
Tony Gonsolin likely out until May
Tony Gonsolin likely won’t be back by the end of April after all.
Instead, a sprained ankle that originally was ruled as day-to-day is becoming a longer-term injury, with the Dodgers now targeting a May return for the right-handed starter who is continuing to rehab at their Arizona spring training facility.
“(It’s been) slow going,” Roberts said. “That ankle, the stability, the recovery, all of it. So no setback, just kind of managing the workload.”
The longer Gonsolin remains out, the more the Dodgers might have to evaluate their options for the rotation.
Michael Grove has been filling in after Gonsolin’s original replacement, Ryan Pepiot, went on the injured list with a strained oblique Pepiot has not even resumed throwing yet, Roberts said.
Grove, however, struggled mightily in his most recent start Sunday in Arizona, giving up nine runs in 3 1/3 innings.
“It is a performance league, but I also think that opportunities are still warranted,” Roberts said of Grove, confirming the young right-hander will get another turn through the rotation and face the Chicago Cubs this weekend. “Given what we have with the other two guys on the IL, I think that he deserves and will get more leash.”
If Grove’s performance doesn’t improve, though, the team could consider calling up fellow right-handed prospect Gavin Stone, who was the opening-day starter for Triple-A Oklahoma City.
Two options unlikely to be part of the rotation equation currently: Bobby Miller, the Dodgers’ other highly touted minor league pitcher who is working through his own slow ramp-up for the season in Arizona after some shoulder soreness at the start of spring; and Andre Jackson, who Roberts said will stay in his long-relief role.
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