Baseball’s home run race has entered September and just when you thought we had a four-way tie, the Los Angeles Dodgers’ Cody Bellinger untied it with his 44th home run Monday night against the Colorado Rockies.
Earlier in the day, Milwaukee Brewers outfielder Christian Yelich hit a ninth-inning home run off Houston Astros closer Roberto Osuna. It was Yelich’s 43rd dinger of the season, tying him with Bellinger, the Los Angeles Angels’ Mike Trout and the New York Mets’ Pete Alonso.
But then Bellinger, whose 43rd homer tied the game in Arizona on Sunday, got into one in a lefty-on-lefty matchup against the Rockies’ Jake McGee.
You know we had to slow it down for homer No. 44. pic.twitter.com/oYRhmJqpZe
— Los Angeles Dodgers (@Dodgers) September 3, 2019
Avoiding the unavoidable
The Rockies had intentionally walked Bellinger twice earlier in the game, trying to work around the lineup’s best bat.
But that didn’t really work — Joc Pederson hit two home runs, the Dodgers hit seven as a team and rookie Gavin Lux scored three runs in his Major League debut. Oh, and Bellinger hit one out anyway.
Dave Roberts reflects on Gavin Lux’s MLB debut, the #Dodgers offense, and an update on Joc Pederson. pic.twitter.com/aucKogd5JZ
— SportsNet LA (@SportsNetLA) September 3, 2019
The great home run race
Every season has a home run race in some capacity, but this one could be really special. Yelich, Alonso and Trout all trail Bellinger by one. But here’s the catch — all three have more games to go than Bellinger.
Combine that with the fact that the Dodgers might try to rest Bellinger in blowouts, as they did after he homered Monday, and the other guys might have more chances than the home run leader.
In any case, it ought to be a great four-way race. Gentlemen, start your bats.
Breaking down the @mlb home run race by game date this season… Should be a fun finish pic.twitter.com/3xbJKEIdix
— Daren Willman (@darenw) September 2, 2019
