Return of 'back-step' to Max Muncy's swing keys two-homer, seven-RBI game in Dodgers win

Max Muncy was one of the first Dodgers on the field Monday, going through an extended session of early batting practice to reintroduce a crucial tweak to his swing.

When 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 motion, a small, left-footed tap toward the catcher that synced his mechanics and put his mind at ease.

It worked wonders for his swing then, helping him finish the year on an offensive tear.

And it did so again in its sudden return, resulting in a two-homer, seven-RBI explosion that led the Dodgers to a 9-1 win over the San Francisco Giants.

"This was just the easiest solution to fix things," Muncy said. "I was just in a good position to hit."

Muncy hit a three-run homer in the third inning, a grand slam in the seventh, and added a walk and a single to help the Dodgers (6-5) snap a three-game losing streak.

The result served as a sigh of relief for the team, preventing an early slip below .500 coming off a rough weekend trip to Arizona, and a massive exhale for Muncy, who let a five-strikeout debacle on opening day snowball into a mentally taxing slump that impacted his mechanics.

“The way the season started,” said Muncy, who entered Monday batting just .121, “there was a lot of anxiety going on.”

Added manager Dave Roberts: “It started to speed up [on him] a little bit.”

With the return of the back step, however, everything clicked.

Though Muncy walked in his first at-bat, he said he immediately felt a difference after adding a slightly less pronounced version of last year's move back into his hitting routine.

His mind wasn’t racing as much in the box. He recognized pitches more easily.

And when he returned to the plate in the third, getting a 2-and-1 slider from Giants starter Logan Webb with two on and two outs, Muncy crushed it the way the Dodgers have long been accustomed to seeing, launching a high-arching drive 405 feet.

“I was in a good position to hit,” Muncy said. “And I let my swing take over.”

That blast was enough for the Dodgers to prevail, opening a four-run lead on a night they got a leadoff home run and two RBIs from Mookie Betts and six strong innings (one run, four hits, eight strikeouts) from starter Julio Urías.

But Muncy wasn’t done tormenting the Giants (4-6), clobbering a first-pitch grand slam in the seventh that marked his 23rd career home run against the team — the most he's hit against a single club.

“Success in general is fun,” said Muncy, who has done much of that damage at Oracle Park. “But I guess it does mean a little bit more when it’s here.”

Emotions from the rivalry are one thing. But the demons Muncy felt creeping back in over the last week — in which his high-strikeout, high-walk, low-slugging performance started to feel reminiscent of his struggles last year — were becoming an even bigger burden on the 32-year-old slugger.

“It was one of those things where, it was like, ‘All right, let’s take a step back, identify the problem, and what’s the easiest solution for it right now?’” Muncy said.

The return of the back-step proved to be his answer, coming to the realization after consultation with the club’s hitting coaches and long sessions of video review in recent days.

“He’s always had it in his pocket,” hitting coach Aaron Bates said. “It’s a rhythmthing. It puts him in good positions.”

Added Muncy: “The only thing I have to worry about is just getting my foot down on time instead of thinking about so many other things. It was just simplifying it, really, even though it's more movement."

Despite that, Muncy had discarded the move at the start of spring training, viewing it as more of a temporary Band-Aid for his mechanics (one that also gave him some knee pain near the end of last year) than a permanent fix.

“I had to revamp my swing last year,” Muncy said during camp. "And now we’re un-revamping it to get it simpler again.”

But when it returned Monday, so did the most potent version of his swing.

“I think this is something that will stick for a little bit longer,” Roberts said with a grin.

Muncy's take?

“Good results tonight," he said with a sigh of relief. "So it's hard to argue against it right now."

This story originally appeared in Los Angeles Times.