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Trayce Thompson drives in 8 runs with 3 homers in Dodgers win

April 2, 2023

LOS ANGELES – Trayce Thompson served up bangers and mashed Saturday.

Thompson – who spent part of his spring playing for Great Britain in the World Baseball Classic – drove in eight runs with three home runs as the Dodgers hammered the Arizona Diamondbacks 10-1.

“That’s a good month right there. You could sit on that for a while,” Clayton Kershaw said of Thompson’s night.

Thompson became the third player in franchise history to hit three or more home runs and drive in eight or more runs in the same game. He joined Gil Hodges who did it in 1950 (four home runs and nine RBI against the Boston Braves) and Adrian Gonzalez who did it in 2016 (three home runs and eight RBI against the Cincinnati Reds). Shawn Green only drove in seven runs with his four-home run game in 2002.

After his third drive made it 1,263 feet of home runs from him, Thompson was coaxed out of the dugout by Freddie Freeman and Tony Gonsolin for one of the most sheepish curtain calls on record.

“That doesn’t happen a lot so that was pretty cool,” Thompson said after the game, still reluctant to revel in his moment. “I remember when Yasiel (Puig) first got called up here. I feel like he did that every week or something. It’s stuff you think about when you’re little, when you’re young in this game. So to have it happen tonight is pretty cool.”

Acquired by the Dodgers last summer because of his ability to hit left-handed pitching, Thompson flipped his splits over the final four months of the season, batting .308 with a 1.010 OPS against right-handers and just .174 with a .621 OPS against the lefties he was supposed to own.

Thompson was just 3 for 35 (.086) against pitching of any kind in Cactus League games this spring. Nonetheless, he made the Dodgers’ roster this spring as the right-handed half of a platoon in center field with James Outman and got his first start Saturday against Diamondbacks left-hander Madison Bumgarner.

“I’m probably the worst spring training player in here I would imagine,” Thompson said. “You’ve just got to ride it out, stick to the process and know that this environment is different. … I do feel like I was hitting the ball well I just wasn’t getting hits. That’s this game.”

The Dodgers got to Bumgarner early. Mookie Betts nearly cleared the left field wall but settled for a double after it was determined a fan had interfered with his drive. Chris Taylor eventually drove him in with a sacrifice fly and the Dodgers loaded the bases for Thompson with two outs.

Thompson said this spring that his difficulties with lefties last year were mainly about struggling to catch up to fastballs. He didn’t have to worry about that with Bumgarner whose fastball doesn’t break 90 mph at this point in his career. Instead, Thompson hammered an 0-and-1 changeup into the pavilion in left-center field for a grand slam.

“I’ve never hit Bumgarner very well,” Thompson said. “The only time was 2020 when I was a Diamondback and we faced each other a lot in practice and stuff. But I haven’t had a ton of success against him so just try to keep it simple, try not to overthink it, try not to do too much. I feel like that approach especially against these really good guys, really established guys, that usually works well for me.”

Bumgarner was gone by the fifth inning when J.D. Martinez led off with a double off right-handed reliever Kevin Ginkel. Miguel Vargas drew a two-out walk (his MLB-leading seventh walk in three games) and brought up Thompson.

Thompson had no trouble catching up to Ginkel’s fastball, driving the 2-and-0 pitch 417 feet over the wall in center field for a three-run homer.

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When Thompson went deep again, it was even deeper. His third homer of the game, a solo shot, came in the eighth inning off another right-handed reliever, rookie Carlos Vargas and traveled 440 feet. The multi-homer game was Thompson’s first since May 2016 against the Angels and the eight RBI are a career-high.

“What a special night. I couldn’t be happier for Trayce,” Dodgers manager Dave Roberts said. “Spring training was a grind for him, but when the lights came on, it was the best swings he’s taken since last year and couldn’t be happier for him. Hitting three homers in a game is something that is unforgettable and couldn’t be happier.”

It also prompted Roberts to joke that he had adopted “a new three-homer rule — if you hit three homers, you’re in there the next day.” So Thompson will start Sunday against a right-hander, Zach Davies.

Thompson’s early blasts took the steam out of a throwback matchup between Bumgarner and Clayton Kershaw. The two were matched up for the 12th time in their careers — this one with another pretty good left-hander, Sandy Koufax, watching from the owner’s seats. It was their first matchup since 2018 and the first since Bumgarner’s move to Arizona.

Time has been kinder to Kershaw who allowed just one run on four hits over six innings. The lone run came on a solo home run by Christian Walker. If that sounds familiar, it should be. Walker has 10 hits in 30 career at-bats against Kershaw, half of them home runs. Among active players, only Nolan Arenado has as many home runs off Kershaw (also five).

“I have a lot of respect for Bum,” Kershaw said. “We’ve done it a lot now and we’re still trying to do it. I think there’s a level of respect on both sides. It’s fun to compete against him — and I’ll probably do it again here in a few days (when the Dodgers go to Arizona next week).”

Kershaw struck out nine in his season debut, raising his career total to 2,815. That moved him past Mike Mussina into 23rd place all-time.

Martinez added a solo home run in the seventh, his second hit of the game after starting the season 1 for 8.

Orange County Register

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Trayce Thompson drives in 8 runs with 3 homers in Dodgers win

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