Max Muncy Reveals Key Detail That Led to World Series Home Run

There were several pivotal moments the Los Angeles Dodgers needed in order to come back against the Toronto Blue Jays in the World Series, but one that gets lost in the shuffle is Max Muncy's home run in Game 7.

With the Dodgers trailing 4-2 in the eighth inning, Muncy connected on an elevated splitter from Trey Yesavage for a solo blast. It was the only hit the rookie allowed in his 1.2 innings pitched out of the bullpen.

"We start getting late in the game, you kind of start playing scenarios in your head. You start going through the lineup, playing the outs," Muncy recalled when asked by Kirsten Watson to reflect on the pivotal swing during the SportsNet LA broadcast of Saturday's game.

"For me, the biggest thing was just trying to find a way on base and get it back to the top of the order one more time. Because as it stood when I got up there, the nine hole was going to be two outs in the ninth if nothing else happened. So for me, the biggest thing was just trying to get it to the top of the lineup. Find a way to get on base any way I can."

While Muncy was focused on ensuring Shohei Ohtani would get what potentially was going to be a final at-bat, Miguel Rojas played the role of hero as well. Meanwhile, Muncy's homer also was significant in that the Dodgers had largely been stymied by Yesavage in the World Series.

"Facing a guy I had seen a couple times already in that series, so just trying to use that knowledge. Had a little mental cue off him that gave me a little success," Muncy added.

"I had to treat him like he was a left-hander, not a right-handed pitcher, just with the way the ball was moving. And that really helped me stay back on the ball. I was able to get a good pitch and I didn't miss it."

Heading into the winner-take-all scenario, Yesavage had held the Dodgers to two runs over four innings in his Game 1 start. He then gave up just one run while pitching seven innings in Game 5.

"A lot of poise. He's an athlete, fields his position well, has good baseball IQ, holding runners. There's no panic," manager Dave Roberts said after the Dodgers ost Game 5. "And you got to tip your cap to him. Game 1, Game 5 on the road and the way he performed, pretty impressive."

In addition to not having familiarity with Yesavage given his rookie status, the Dodgers also weren't able to utilize the popular Trajekt machine because of the right-hander's unorthodox high release point.

Max Muncy building toward Opening Day

Saturday was only Muncy's ninth Cactus League game of the spring, but he's benefitting from a methodical build up and is encouraged by his progress toward being ready for the start of the season.