by Cary Osborne
The Dodgers’ 16 wins in June are their most in any month this season.
This, despite some struggling stars at the top of the lineup, the fifth-highest ERA in the Majors in June and five losses in their first six games this month.
A few reasons — Max Muncy and Shohei Ohtani.
Muncy and Ohtani homered in the same game and drove in multiple runs for the second time in five games. The Dodgers beat the Royals 5–4 on Friday in Kansas City in the first game of the three-game series.
The Dodgers have won five straight games.
Ohtani and Muncy were responsible for three of the Dodgers’ four hits on Friday.
Ohtani led off Friday with a home run — his eighth leadoff homer of the year. He also tripled in a run in the top of the fifth to tie the score at the time 4–4.
Ohtani then scored his 82nd run of the season on a Mookie Betts single to give the Dodgers the go-ahead run.
Ohtani has hit seven homers this month, driven in 17 runs and scored 19 times.
He has caught fire over the Dodgers’ last five games with four home runs, two triples, 10 RBI and nine runs scored.
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Muncy hit a two-run homer in the second inning, giving the Dodgers a 3–1 lead at the time.
He has four home runs and 15 RBI over his last four games.
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Muncy is now tied for 12th in the National League with 53 RBI this season.
It’s been an incredible turnaround for Muncy.
On May 13, he ranked 80th in the NL with nine RBI. He also had one home run.
May 14 is the point where he turned the corner.
He has 12 home runs and 44 RBI in his last 38 games since then.
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Muncy and Ohtani are responsible for 39% of the Dodgers’ home runs, 32% of the Dodgers’ runs batted in and 31% of the Dodgers’ runs scored this month.
But for all that offense this month and in this game, the Dodgers were hanging on late with the Royals loading the bases with one out against closer Tanner Scott.
Scott induced a grounder to second baseman Tommy Edman off the bat of rookie Jac Caglianone. Edman went to Mookie Betts at second for one out. Betts’ return throw was a one-hop fastball that Freddie Freeman scooped and snowconed for the final out of the game.
Freeman’s scoop saved the game.
The Dodger bullpen allowed no runs over the last five innings, following Dustin May who allowed four runs over four frames.
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June boom has gotten its boost from Muncy and Ohtani was originally published in Dodger Insider on Medium, where people are continuing the conversation by highlighting and responding to this story.