Bellinger Belts First Career Grand Slam

The Dodgers (17-14) defeated the San Diego Padres (12-20) Friday night 8-2 and again last night 10-2 thanks in large part to Cody Bellinger’s 3 homeruns, including last night’s 9th inning “Grand Salami.”

The momentous night for Bellinger was preceded by the club’s decision to place first baseman, Adrian Gonzalez, on the Disabled List (“DL”) for the first time in his 14 year career.  The 21-year-old Bellinger was first called up on April 25th after Logan Forsythe and Joc Pederson were placed on the DL earlier in the month.  Since that time, Bellinger has been fighting for a position to remain on the starting roster.  Many would say he has a pretty good argument for his case.

In only 11 games, Bellinger is batting .357 with 15 hits, 11 runs scored, 14 RBI’s, 5 HR’s (one of which was his Grand Slam), and a stolen base.  Bellinger becomes only the 7th player in MLB history to record 15 hits and 5 homeruns in his first 11 games.  Despite the historic beginning to his career, the question still remains: “Will Cody Bellinger remain on the starting roster after the return of Logan Forsythe and Adrian Gonzalez?”

Joc Pederson returned to action on Friday night, which did not affect playing time for Bellinger.  It would also appear that the return of Logan Forsythe would put Chris Taylor on the bench first despite the fact that he has also had an outstanding performance thus far.  Veteran Adrian Gonzalez is only on the 10-day DL which buys Bellinger more time.  It also gives him 9 more days to prove his worth.  Given the politics of baseball anything could happen at this point.  No matter the result, though, one thing is guaranteed: This won’t be the last we see of Cody Bellinger.

BakoBoyInBlue