SAN FRANCISCO — The Dodgers were relatively easy on Cody Bellinger when he returned to the dugout, with Game 2 in his pocket.
Maybe they remembered last year, and the ultimate celebration penalty.
They watched him come to the plate in the sixth inning, bases loaded and one out and three Dodgers aboard against a struggling reliever, Dominic Leone. It was ambrosia with a cherry on top for the Bellinger that used to be, and that one revisited Oracle Park with a solid double into the left-center gap on the first pitch.
That sent home two Dodgers and put them up, 4-1. It was 6-1 when the inning ended and 9-2 for the record, and L.A. tied the best-of-five National League Division Series, 1-1.
“I thought CT (Chris Taylor) set up the momentum of that inning with his walk (which loaded the bases), and that helped me simplify my plan,” Bellinger said.
Muscles do have memories, long ones at times. Perhaps this can make Bellinger forget his year-long stay in the bottomless pit.
The ordeal started with friendly fire. Bellinger homered to win Game 7 of the NL Championship Series over the Braves. Among those who greeted him was Kiké Hernandez, whose high arm-bash knocked Bellinger’s shoulder clear out of its joint.
Bellinger hit .136 with one home run in the six-game World Series victory over Tampa Bay, then had a shoulder operation. Rehab kept leading to rehab, thanks to a hairline fracture in his leg, a hamstring problem, a non-displaced broken rib.
It has all led to a high sprain of a season.
Bellinger was limited to 85 games. The absurdly talented 2017 NL Rookie of the Year and 2019 NL Most Valuable Player was the most consistently unproductive hitter in the league.
In a spectacular example of how batting average is not always deceptive, he hit .165. Of more concern was his .240 on-base percentage, and the fact that 26.9 percent of his at-bats ended in a strikeout.
Through it all Bellinger has not forsaken his speed or defense, which is why he continued to play. Hitting has always been a riddle for him, and his slumps can drag on for weeks. Even last year he only hit .239 with an OPS of .789. The year before, his OPS was 1.035.
In 2018 Bellinger dropped 14 home runs and 21 RBIs from his rookie season, and he did so while he played 30 more games. Then he rose up to win the NLCS MVP. Maybe the Dodgers will always have to put up with his extremes, but his top end is so limitless that they have little choice.
Yes, he is 26. Still.
“I’m not frustrated,” Bellinger said beforehand. “Physically I feel fine. It’s always going to be a cat-and-mouse game. Obviously there were more factors into it this year, with what I had to deal with. But at the end of the day, it’s in the past. I’m only looking forward.”
Bellinger batted seventh Saturday night. It’s better than batting eighth, which Bellinger did in 17 games this season, his second most frequent landing spot in the order. That was something of a disservice, since a good No. 8 hitter in the NL sees almost nothing to hit. Still, if merit meant more than the specter of embarrassment, he might have hit ninth.
“I try not to think about my shoulder,” Bellinger said. “But it’s definitely in a better spot than it was before the surgery. Now, it’s all about strengthening it and getting the small muscles around it strong enough to keep the capsule in it. All that kind of weightlifting and training stuff.
“It’s going to take a while. Adrian Gonzalez and Matt Kemp, it was about their lead shoulder, too. I was rehabbing all through the offseason last year, and then everything happened this year. I think having a full offseason is going to be very beneficial.”
The game also belonged to Julio Urias. The Dodgers are 27-6 when he starts. Here, the Giants were 0 for 5 against him with men in scoring position and, in the second inning, he dumped an RBI single into right field when Giants manager Gabe Kapler walked AJ Pollock, a 12-for-80 lifetime postseason hitter at the time, to pitch to him. Pollock doubled to drive in two in the seventh, again with first base open.
The Dodgers only led 2-1, with Giants flagging down their drives like gymnasts, when Trea Turner doubled off Kevin Gausman. Justin Turner walked, Kapler removed Gausman, and Leone walked Chris Taylor, who started this game and should continue doing so.
Opponents were only 7 for 40 this season against Leone with runners in scoring position. But in this first bullpen faceoff, the Dodgers were undisputed.
The possibility exists that Bellinger’s double will unlock the game-dominator inside him, the one that emerged three Octobers ago. Considering it’s Bellinger, everything’s a possibility.