LOS ANGELES -- The Reds are on pace to accomplish something only four Major League teams have done in history: Feature three players with at least 39 homers in a single season.
Joey Votto, Scott Schebler and Adam Duvall all homered in Sunday's 9-7 loss to the Dodgers. Votto and Schebler are tied atop the National League with 18 homers apiece, putting them on pace to hit 47. Duvall hit his 15th homer, putting him on pace to finish the season with 39.
All told, the trio of Votto, Schebler and Duvall are on pace to combine for 133 homers. That would be a Reds' franchise record for three players in a single season. The 1970 Reds got 119 homers combined from Johnny Bench (45), Tony Perez (40) and Lee May (34).
"It means you're never out of a game, and that's what we've felt this year," Reds manager Bryan Price said of the club's potent offense. "That's the beauty of our lineup, you never really feel like we're too far out of the ballgame."
Duvall opened the home run barrage with a solo shot to left field on the first pitch he saw from Dodgers starter Hyun-Jin Ryu. Two batters later, Schebler slapped a 1-0 offering from Ryu for an opposite-field homer. Votto added a solo shot to left-center in the third, also off Ryu.
"I think that we have an offense that can score on anybody, and that isn't afraid to come back," said catcher Devin Mesoraco, who went deep off Thomas Stripling in the sixth for a two-run homer. "The at-bats that we've been putting together, specifically the middle of the order there, they've been impressive. That can't be an easy lineup for any pitcher or opposing team to get through."
While the Reds smacked four homers Sunday afternoon, the Dodgers matched their output and overcame a 7-3 deficit with six runs in the eighth, taking the lead on Corey Seager's grand slam off closer Raisel Iglesias.
"Tough to waste a seven-run effort by the offense, but it's really what we do as far as scoring runs," Price said. "That really has been a big part, the power portion. We got some great at-bats and some big add-on runs there to stretch the lead to four going into the eighth and we just couldn't shut it down."
The other Major League clubs with three hitters with at least 39 homers in a single season include the 2015 Toronto Blue Jays (Jose Bautista, Josh Donaldson, Edwin Encarnacion), the 1997 Colorado Rockies (Vinny Castilla, Andres Galarraga, Larry Walker), the '96 Rockies (Ellis Burks, Castilla, Galarraga) and the '73 Atlanta Braves (Hank Aaron, Darrell Evans, Davey Johnson).