Dodgers Score Record 11 Runs In 1st Inning vs Braves In Game 3 of NLCS
ARLINGTON, Texas (AP) — In Game 3 of the NL Championship Series, Max Muncy hit a grand slam to cap an 11-run first inning for the Los Angeles Dodgers, the highest-scoring inning ever in a postseason game.
The 11 runs came against the Atlanta Braves, who were also on the wrong side of matching the previous mark. They allowed 10 runs in the first inning in the deciding Game 5 of the NL Division Series against St. Louis last season.
The slam by Muncy off reliever Grant Dayton was the third homer in the inning, matching another LCS record.
After Mookie Betts led off the game with an infield single on the first pitch, Corey Seager drove him home with a double on the next pitch. Joc Pederson hit a three-run homer and Edwin Rios later went deep on consecutive pitches against Kyle Wright, who then walked the No. 9 batter before Dayton took over.
Betts walked before Seager had an RBI single, Justin Turner was hit by a pitch and Muncy went deep. Will Smith, the record-matching 14th batter in the inning, struck out to end it.
The Dodgers led 11-0 entering the second inning after center fielder Cody Bellinger robbed the Braves' Ozzie Albies with a leaping catch at the wall that stranded two runners in the bottom of the first. Bellinger then led off the second with a homer.
Los Angeles had seven hits, three walks and a hit batter in that 32-minutes at the plate, the 29,786th half-inning in postseason history.
Atlanta had allowed only six runs in its first six playoff games, including four shutouts, going into Game 2 on Tuesday night. The Dodgers scored four runs in the bottom of the ninth inning of an 8-7 loss, then had the 11-run first Wednesday.
Los Angeles tied a franchise record for a postseason game with its four homers through two innings. The all-time postseason mark for homers in a game is six by the Chicago Cubs in Game 3 of the 2015 NLDS against the Cardinals.