The Dodgers will face a difficult roster decision when utility man Chris Taylor is ready to be activated in the next week or so, one that could force a game of musical chairs in which one of four players — outfielders Jason Heyward and Kevin Kiermaier, utility man Kiké Hernández and Taylor — is left without a spot on the bench.
Heyward picked a good time to hammer a pinch-hit three-run home run to right field in the bottom of the eighth inning to lift the Dodgers to a dramatic 6-3 come-from-behind victory over the Seattle Mariners Tuesday night before a crowd of 48,395 in Chavez Ravine.
The score was tied 3-3 when Will Smith was hit by a pitch with one out in the eighth and Max Muncy walked. Tommy Edman struck out, but Heyward turned viciously on a 99-mph fastball at the top of the zone from Mariners closer Anthony Munoz and sent a 108-mph laser over the short wall in right for a 6-3 lead.
“I truly believe the game honors you, and the game honored him tonight,” manager Dave Roberts said of Heyward. “He does things the right way. He was ready when called upon, and he came up with a huge hit. Shoot, that was probably the highlight of the season for me thus far.”
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Heyward provided another highlight on June 19 in Coors Field when he crushed a pinch-hit grand slam off the right-field foul pole to spark a seven-run ninth inning that gave the Dodgers an 11-9 win over the Colorado Rockies.
The 15-year veteran is batting just .208 with a .682 on-base-plus-slugging percentage, six homers and 28 RBIs in 63 games this season, but he has three pinch-hit homers during his career and a potent left-handed bat off the bench can be valuable in October.
“I think [the decision] is going to be what it’s going to be, no matter what,” Heyward said. “Years like this, when a team is all-in, I think they always have to put their best foot forward, and whatever happens, happens.
“But I think personally, it’s pretty cool to be No. 23 for this club, to hit a couple of majestic No. 23-type homers, not in the postseason, but for where we want to go, a pinch-hit grand slam and a pinch-hit three-run homer is pretty special.”
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Roberts wouldn’t go so far as to say that Heyward’s homer solidified a roster spot, but it certainly didn’t hurt his cause.
“C.T. is coming back, and obviously he’s a part of what we’ve done, what we’re doing this year, next year,” Roberts said. “This is the tough part of the job. It’s a good thing that you have a lot of good players, but you only have so many spots. Someone’s going to be a casualty, unfortunately. I don’t know the answer right now.”
Heyward has been the ultimate team player, never complaining about his platoon role in the first half of the season or about a further reduction in playing time when Mookie Betts moved from shortstop back to right field upon returning from a left-hand fracture last week.
“I mean, he is the definition of a pro with everything he does in this clubhouse and on that field,” Muncy said. “We wouldn’t be where we are today without him. He’s a huge part of this team and this clubhouse, and it’s really awesome to see him get that hit. He’s an incredible teammate, an incredible human being, and an incredible player.”
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Muncy can hardly fathom the thought of Heyward being let go, but Kiermaier is a four-time Gold Glove Award-winning center fielder who delivered some big hits on last week’s road trip, Hernández can play virtually any position and the versatile Taylor has delivered some clutch playoff hits.
“We have guys [on the bench] who would be stars in any other lineup,” Muncy said. “Obviously, it’s going to be a difficult decision. None of us know what it’s going to be. But everyone’s still trying to go out there and win the game. That really speaks to who we are as a team. There’s not one person here who’s worried about himself. They just care about trying to win the game.”
Walker Buehler put the Dodgers in a 3-0 hole with his second shaky start since returning from a right-hip injury last week. The right-hander labored through a four-inning, three-run, seven-hit, 82-pitch outing in which he struck out one, walked three and struggled with his command.
Buehler, who is trying to find some semblance of his pre-Tommy John surgery form, needed three pitches to record two outs and 79 pitches to get 10 more. He gave up a bases-loaded, two-run single to Jorge Polanco in the first inning and an RBI double to Polanco in the third. He jawed with home-plate umpire CB Bucknor in the fourth.
“I didn’t throw the ball well,” Buehler said, “and our team really helped me out and got us back in the game.”
The Dodgers trimmed the deficit to 3-2 when Gavin Lux and Muncy each hit solo homers in the fourth, Lux sending a 390-foot shot to center field to continue his torrid one-month stretch and Muncy driving a 407-foot shot to the back of the right-field bullpen for his second homer in two games since returning from an oblique strain.
Lux was batting .211 with a .556 on-base-plus-slugging percentage, three homers, eight doubles and 24 RBIs in 79 games through July 19. In 29 games since, the second baseman hit .372 (35 for 94) with seven homers, 10 doubles and 21 RBIs, raising his season average to .254 and his OPS to .713.
The Dodgers tied the score 3-3 in the seventh when Edman led off with a double to right-center and scored on Betts’ clutch two-out RBI double to left.
Five Dodgers relievers–Alex Vesia, Ryan Brasier, Anthony Banda, Joe Kelly and Daniel Hudson–combined to allow only one hit in five scoreless innings, and Heyward provided the decisive blow in the eighth, as the Dodgers maintained their National League West lead of three games over San Diego and four games over Arizona.
“Don’t overthink it, because you don’t have a lot of time,” Heyward said, when asked how tough it is to come off the bench and hit a 99-mph fastball at the top of the zone. “I’ve had a lot of time to prepare for a moment like that, and you just want to go up there, trust your approach, and if you come through, it’s amazing.”
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This story originally appeared in Los Angeles Times.
