It hasn’t taken long for Max Muncy and Tommy Edman to get back in the swing of things.
After lengthy injury layoffs, Muncy homered for a second consecutive game and Edman doubled and scored the tying run as the Los Angeles Dodgers rallied from a three-run deficit to defeat the visiting Seattle Mariners 6-3 Tuesday night.
Pinch-hitter Jason Heyward hit a tiebreaking three-run homer with two outs in the bottom of the eighth for the National League West-leading Dodgers, who will try to sweep the three-game interleague series when it concludes Wednesday night.
“When you look at one-through-nine guys that can take at-bats, that can slug, that can get a hit, that can get to all fields, that’s kind of (how) we put this roster together,” Dodgers manager Dave Roberts said. “And finally, we get a chance to see it.
“You have Tommy hitting ninth and just adding tremendous length. … It’s just a relentless lineup. When you’ve got Max Muncy hitting seventh in the lineup, that’s saying something.”
Muncy and Edman both came off the injured list Monday.
Muncy had been out since May 17 with an oblique injury and Edman, acquired from St. Louis at the trade deadline, made his Dodgers — and season — debut after offseason surgery on his right wrist.
Muncy hit a two-run homer in the seventh inning Monday and a solo shot in the fourth Tuesday.
“The mechanics feel really good,” Muncy said. “Obviously, the timing is not entirely where I want to be, but that’s just something that’s going to come with more time out there on the field. There’s only so much time you can have doing a rehab assignment.”
Added Edman: “I’m excited to finally be playing in some big league games again. I really haven’t been on the injured list very much my whole career up until this year, so it’s felt weird not getting to play. So I’m excited and hopefully (will) finish this year out strong.”
Gavin Lux also homered for a second straight night for the Dodgers, who have won three in a row and have a three-game lead over San Diego in the division.
The Mariners continue to sink, dropping to 1-7 on their nine-game trip that concludes Wednesday. In four of those games, their normally reliable bullpen has allowed a tying or go-ahead homer in the seventh inning or later.
Closer Andres Munoz gave up the three-run blast to Heyward on Tuesday after surrendering the game-tying hit in the previous inning.
“He hasn’t pitched at all on this trip, so that was the plan going into the game: If there was a high-leverage spot to shoot him in there earlier in the game, and we did,” Mariners manager Scott Servais said. “He just wasn’t as sharp as he normally has been. And that’s what happens when you don’t pitch a lot.”
The Mariners are chasing the Astros in the American League West, where Houston holds a five-game lead. The Mariners had a 10-game lead on June 18.
The series finale is scheduled to feature a pair of right-handers in the Mariners’ Logan Gilbert (7-9, 2.96 ERA) against the Dodgers’ Jack Flaherty (9-5, 3.06).
Gilbert has lost four of his past five decisions despite giving up more than three earned runs just once over his past six starts. He will make his second career start against the Dodgers, who roughed him up for five runs in five innings in a 6-1 Los Angeles victory last Sept. 17.
Flaherty is 2-0 in three starts for the Dodgers since being acquired from Detroit at the trade deadline. Flaherty is 1-0 with a 5.91 ERA in two previous starts against the M’s.
–Field Level Media
