Dodgers take advantage of hitters' park, smash 3 home runs vs. A's

WEST SACRAMENTO -- The Dodgers have some organizational familiarity with Sutter Health Park, as the temporary home of the A's is one of the Pacific Coast League destinations for L.A.'s Triple-A affiliate. So they came into Monday night with a loose idea of what to expect before playing their first big league contest at the ballpark.

"If you are behind, keep going," manager Dave Roberts said before the game. "I’m not saying it’s Denver, but the ball does carry.”

That proved true for both sides, but it was the Dodgers who came out on top, riding a trio of long balls from Max Muncy, Andy Pages and Shohei Ohtani to a series-opening 9-4 win over the A's. Starter Eric Lauer surrendered a homer of his own as one of a season-high nine hits, but was still able to provide a quality start.

"The boys are rolling good right now," Muncy said. "We're taking a lot of really good at-bats. We're starting to get some healthy pieces back also. It's a boost to everybody."

L.A. struck first in the second inning against A's starter Gage Jump. Teoscar Hernández provided a jolt in his return from a strained left hamstring, beating out an infield single and going first to third on a Kyle Tucker sun ball before scoring on a Muncy single. Dalton Rushing drove in Tucker to give the Dodgers a 2-0 lead.

But in the bottom of the second, the A's surged ahead by one run. Lauer surrendered a solo shot to Colby Thomas to open the inning, then gave up another two runs on three singles and a forceout. The southpaw continued to labor through a third inning in which he stranded the bases loaded, but his pitch count swelled to 59 pitches.

After falling behind, the Dodgers kept going, just as their skipper had said earlier. Muncy -- not to be confused with the A's Max Muncy, who also hit seventh and played third base -- led off the fourth inning with a solo home run off Jump, the first long ball the rookie left-hander has surrendered in the Majors. Pages put L.A. back on top with a two-run blast off Jump later that inning, reclaiming the National League RBI lead with his 59th and 60th of the season.

While Pages has been one of the Dodgers' best hitters this year -- leading to him being a finalist to start the All-Star Game -- he has cooled off in June, posting a .656 OPS, which he attributed to issues with his swing mechanics.

"I felt like I was going really bad for a while," Pages said through interpreter Juan Dorado. "I’m trying to get out of that bad funk. The last week or so, I feel like I’m getting a little more comfortable with my at-bats."

For good measure, Ohtani added on with his 18th homer of the year in the sixth inning, a three-run blast off Matt Krook that landed high up on the berm in right field. The Statcast-projected 432-foot shot was Ohtani's second-longest home run this season, trailing to his 438-footer on April 5.

Even while managing some lingering soreness in his left knee, Ohtani has not looked back since heating up at the plate last month. He's posted a 1.148 OPS in 39 games dating back to May 12, which leads qualified hitters in that span.

"Shohei has been on a heater," Roberts said. "The last six weeks, he's been the best player in baseball. … I don’t think he’s 100% with his knee. But as far as his swing mechanics, where he’s at, he’s on balance; he’s 100% in the box.”

Meanwhile, Lauer settled down to retire nine of the 11 batters he faced across his final three innings. L.A. has won all six of his appearances (five starts) as a Dodger.

"Making sure I'm putting the team in a position to win the game is pretty much my job," Lauer said. "I think so far I've done a good job of that, and making sure that I'm able to stay in the game long enough to save the bullpen a couple of innings is always a positive."

The Dodgers' MLB-leading 55th win put their skipper on the cusp of a milestone achievement: 1,000 managerial wins in the regular season.

"I'd like to get it out of the way tomorrow," Roberts said. "But quite the accomplishment. I'm pretty excited.”