Muncy, Dodgers overpower Rangers
Max Muncy homered in a fourth consecutive game, and Yasiel Puig drove in three runs Tuesday as the Los Angeles Dodgers rolled to a 12-5 victory over the visiting Texas Rangers.
The Dodgers (34-32) have won 18 of their past 24 games. By winning the opener of a two-game interleague matchup, they have assured themselves of going unbeaten in their past eight series.
The Rangers (27-42) fell to a season-high 15 games under .500 while losing their fifth consecutive game. They have dropped eight of their past 11.
Puig and Joc Pederson added home runs for the Dodgers, who have hit at least three long balls in eight of their 10 games in June. They have 29 home runs this month alone, easily the most in baseball.
Los Angeles left-hander Caleb Ferguson gave up two runs on five hits over four innings in his second career start. He made his big league debut last Wednesday at Pittsburgh, lasting just 1 2/3, innings while giving up four runs on two hits and three walks.
Muncy now has a hit in eight consecutive games, and he is 18-for-54 (.333) with eight home runs in his last 17 games at Dodger Stadium. He started at second base for the first time this season.
Muncy's home run was his 13th of the season, while Puig and Pederson each hit their eighth. Seven of Pederson's eight home runs have come since June 2.
Pederson had three hits, the homer and two doubles. Seven Dodgers starters had at least two hits.
The Dodgers have won nine of their past 12 home games, but in an indication of how poorly they played early in the season, they are just 17-18 overall at Dodger Stadium. The Rangers are now 7-14 in their past 21 road games.
Texas' Adrian Beltre was 2-for-3 with an RBI in his return to Dodger Stadium. He now has 3,089 hits in his career, tying Ichiro Suzuki for the most hits by a non-U.S. native. Beltre played his first seven major league seasons with the Dodgers.
Rangers starter Bartolo Colon gave up eight runs on nine hits over 3 1/3 innings. However, with a strikeout of Muncy in the first inning, he reached the 2,500 plateau for his career, becoming the 34th pitcher to reach that mark.
--Field Level Media
