Daily Clips

June 20, 2017

LOS ANGELES DODGERS DAILY CLIPS TUESDAY, JUNE 20, 2017

DODGERS.COM Bellinger, Turner power Dodgers past Mets- Anthony DiComo and Joshua Thornton Area Cody: Rookie hits HRs at historic rate- Joshua Thornton McCarthy, Dodgers look to stay hot vs. Mets- Anthony Dicomo Seager needs votes to overtake SS leader- Joshua Thornton Fields to Triple-A as Romo returns to 'pen- Joshua Thornton After hitting his 21st home run in just 51 games, we ranked Cody Bellinger's five best dingers- Michael Clair Pipeline Preview: Buehler seeking another strong start- Mike Rosenbaum LA TIMES Cody Bellinger's nightly home run derby barrage leads Dodgers to 10-6 win- Bill Shaikin Dodgers activate Sergio Romo, demote Josh Fields- Bill Shaikin Could Dodgers' Kenley Jansen be halfway to no-walk MVP season?- Bill Shaikin OC REGISTER Cody Bellinger hits two more homers as Dodgers beat Mets, 10-6- Bill Plunkett Dodgers Notes: Josh Fields heads to Triple-A as Sergio Romo returns to bullpen- Bill Plunkett On deck: Mets at Dodgers, Tuesday, 7:10 p.m.- Bill Plunkett ESPN Real or not? Cody Bellinger makes All-Star push, Jose Ramirez an All-Star lock- David Schoenfield Bellinger fastest to 21 HRs; Dodgers outslug Mets 10-6- The Associated Press TRUE BLUE LA Justin Turner & Cody Bellinger lead Dodgers offensive barrage- Eric Stephen Carlos Rincon hits 38 HR to win Midwest League Home Run Derby- Eric Stephen Cody Bellinger the fastest to 21 home runs in major league history- Eric Stephen Ogden Raptors announce opening day roster– Eric Stephen DODGER INSIDER Bellinger, Turner lead home run parade at Dodger Stadium- Rowan Kavner Romo reinstated, Fields optioned to Triple-A Oklahoma City- Rowan Kavner Not many changes in fourth NL All-Star balloting update- Rowan Kavner NBC LA Cody Bellinger Breaks Records as Dodgers Beat Mets, 10-6, in Slugfest- Michael Duarte YAHOO SPORTS Cody Bellinger sets major-league record with 21st career home run- Chris Cwik FOX SPORTS Cody Bellinger’s two-HR night puts the Dodgers’ rookie in the record book- Chris Bahr BLEACHER REPORT Dodgers Rookie Cody Bellinger Already 1 of MLB's Most Lethal Sluggers- Zachary D. Rymer USA TODAY Diamondbacks, Rockies, Dodgers run roughshod over National League- Bob Nightengale

LOS ANGELES DODGERS DAILY CLIPS

TUESDAY, JUNE 20, 2017

DODGERS.COM Bellinger, Turner power Dodgers past Mets By Anthony DiComo and Joshua Thornton LOS ANGELES -- Even with Dodgers ace Clayton Kershaw having an off night, home runs from Cody Bellinger, Justin Turner and Chris Taylor sent the Dodgers to their 10th win in 11 games, a 10-6 victory over the Mets on Monday at Dodger Stadium. The Dodgers racked up a season-high 17 hits and handed Kershaw a 7-0 lead after two innings. Mets starter Zack Wheeler gave up four runs in the first, including a three-run homer to Bellinger, and three in the second, when Turner and Bellinger went back to back. Bellinger's second shot put him in the record books as the first player to hit 21 home runs through their first 51 games. Turner went 4-for-4 with four RBIs, extending his hitting streak to 14 games. He's batting .399 on the season, but is 16 plate appearances short of qualifying for the league lead. Taylor hit a solo shot in the seventh, giving him eight home runs on the season. "The results show it's a hot streak," Dodgers manager Dave Roberts said. "But if you look within the results, it's winning pitches, hitting into good hitters counts, and when we get behind, find a way to get a walk or put a ball in play. Those things result in a relentless offense." Wheeler was pulled after two innings, having allowed seven runs on eight hits, but the Mets didn't go quietly, scoring six runs on four home runs off Kershaw, a career high for the two-time National League Cy Young Award winner. "It's really frustrating," Wheeler said, noting that he feels fine physically in his first season back from 2015 Tommy John surgery. "It all starts with me, though. These last two outings weren't very fun." Jose Reyes homered twice, belting a solo shot in the third and a two-run homer in the seventh. Jay Bruce added another solo shot in the fourth and Gavin Cecchini hit his first career home run in the fifth. Eight home runs were hit between the teams. "I'm giving up a lot of home runs right now," Kershaw said. "You hope mistakes are hit for singles or doubles or whatever, it just so happens that mine are going out of the ballpark right now. I don't know what you do to change that, other than stop making mistakes, I guess." The four home runs by the Mets raised Kershaw's season total to 17, which is a new career-high for the lefty. Kershaw allowed 16 home runs in 33 starts in 2012. "It's ironic, because I thought the stuff was the best it's been over his last three starts," Roberts said. "If you look at the whole body of work, 112 pitches, he made four mistakes and they unfortunately went out of the ballpark."

MOMENTS THAT MATTERED Racing ahead: Following Turner's two-run homer in the second, Bellinger gave the Dodgers a commanding lead by hitting a full-count home run to center field that put the Dodgers up, 7-0. Bellinger and Hall of Famer Mike Piazza are the only Dodgers rookies with five multihomer games. Getting out of trouble: With the Mets trailing, 10-6, in the eighth, Dodgers reliever Chris Hatcher loaded the bases, giving up a single to Yoenis Cespedes and walking Bruce and Travis d'Arnaud. Reyes entered the batter's box with a chance to tie the ballgame. But after pitching coach Rick Honeycutt came out to the mound, Hatcher settled in, firing a 96.3-mph four-seam fastball to get Reyes to strike out swinging and end the inning. "I think the best chance that I had was on the first pitch, and I fouled that one off," Reyes said. "After that, I swung at like three bad pitches. I was a little bit overaggressive there." QUOTABLE "We need to turn it around sooner or later. It's late June and we're not even playing .500 baseball. Hopefully we can play better baseball starting tomorrow. -- Reyes "I don't have any answers, but I do know that they are hitting the ball in the air. His track record, I think, I'm certain it'll even out, and this pace of giving up home runs for Clayton, definitely don't see it continuing." -- Roberts, on Kershaw SOUND SMART WITH YOUR FRIENDS Given the dubious pleasure of making his first career start against Kershaw, Cecchini cranked the Mets' third homer off him, a two-run shot in the fifth. That made him the third player to hit his first big league home run vs. Kershaw, joining Milwaukee's Hector Gomez -- who never hit another homer in the Majors -- and Cincinnati's Darnell McDonald. WHAT'S NEXT Mets: Los Angeles native Robert Gsellman will make his first career start in the state of California when the Mets return to Dodger Stadium for a 10:10 p.m. ET rematch Tuesday. Gsellman gave up seven runs in five innings last time out, taking his first loss in a month. Dodgers: Brandon McCarthy will take the mound for the Dodgers on Tuesday following a start against Cleveland in which he gave up one run on three hits in 5 1/3 innings. The righty sports a 3.14 ERA and is 5-3 on the season. First pitch is slated for 7:10 pm PT. Area Cody: Rookie hits HRs at historic rate By Joshua Thornton LOS ANGELES -- Dodgers rookie Cody Bellinger is still trying to wrap his head around his ascension.

Less than two months after being called up, Bellinger had his fifth multihomer game and became the fastest player in history to reach 21 home runs, doing so in his 51st game on Monday night in the Dodgers' 10-6 win over the Mets. "It's crazy," said Bellinger, who made his big league debut on April 25. "A month and a half ago, if you told me what I was gonna do, I'd probably call you crazy." Bellinger tied the Yankees' Gary Sanchez for the fastest to 20 homers with a three-run shot off Zack Wheeler in the first inning, then the 21-year-old first baseman added a solo shot off Wheeler in the second that gave him the National League home run lead. Bellinger, who finished 3-for-5 with four RBIs, joins Hall of Famer Mike Piazza as the only Dodgers rookies to hit multiple homers in five games. "His maturity in a lot of different situations he's been in in his young career, he continues to pass the test," Dodgers manager Dave Roberts said. Bellinger hit both Monday homers off Wheeler's slider, which has been a rarity. In 12 starts, Wheeler had only yielded one home run (to Buster Posey on May 9) and allowed two barreled balls on that pitch this season. "It's unbelievable," Mets manager Terry Collins said about Bellinger. "This guy swings the bat, he hits it on the barrel. It's pretty impressive." The home runs traveled a Statcast™-projected 414 and 410 feet, respectively, and had exit velocities of 108 and 104 mph, respectively, both of which were above average vs. Wheeler's slider. Opponents came into the game 12-for-60 (.200) with a .267 slugging and an average exit velocity of 83.5 mph against Wheeler's slider. Next on Bellinger's list could be to compete in the Home Run Derby, which takes place in Miami on July 10. For now, he said he hasn't been asked, and Roberts said he'll leave the decision on whether to participate up to Bellinger. "I think it'd be pretty special," Bellinger said. "My dad has been throwing BP to me my whole life, so I'd have him throw to me and I'd think that would be a cool moment." Bellinger is the son of Clay Bellinger, who had a 15-year professional career, playing in the Majors with the Yankees and Angels from 1999-2002. McCarthy, Dodgers look to stay hot vs. Mets By Anthony Dicomo In his first start back from a dislocated non-throwing shoulder last month, Brandon McCarthy struggled. He's been nearly untouchable since, posting a 1.91 ERA in his last five starts entering Tuesday's 7:10 p.m. PT showdown with the Mets at Dodger Stadium. Los Angeles will be seeking its 11th win in its last 12 games.

Establishing himself as one of the Dodgers' most consistent starters, McCarthy has held opposing hitters to a .184 average and .496 OPS over that five-start stretch, striking out three times as many batters as he has walked. McCarthy will oppose Los Angeles native Robert Gsellman, who will make his first career start in the state of California. Gsellman struggled last time out against the Nationals, allowing seven runs to bloat his ERA to 5.50 -- including a 5.71 mark in 12 starts. Things to know about this game • Mets manager Terry Collins softened his assertion that Yoenis Cespedes will play every day now that he is nearly two weeks removed from a lengthy DL stint. Though Cespedes is scheduled to start all four of the Mets' games against the Dodgers, including Tuesday versus McCarthy, the Mets will look to give him a day off this weekend in San Francisco. • With a 4-for-4, four-RBI performance in Monday's Dodgers win, third baseman Justin Turner extended his hitting streak to 14 games, matching Philadelphia's Tommy Joseph for the longest active run in the Majors. Turner has knocked in at least one run in three of his last five games against the Mets, his former team. • Entering Monday, no full-time starter had allowed a lower rate of "hard-hit" balls (those with exit velocities of at least 95 mph) than McCarthy's 21.4 percent, and no pitcher had allowed a lower rate of barrels (the most favorable batted balls for hitters, yielding expected batting averages of at least .500 and slugging percentages of at least 1.500) than McCarthy's 2.2 percent. Seager needs votes to overtake SS leader By Joshua Thornton LOS ANGELES -- Corey Seager highlights the list of Dodgers in the running on the latest voting update for the update 2017 Esurance MLB All-Star Game Ballot, sitting in second place at shortstop behind the Reds' Zack Cozart. Cozart, who was placed on the 10-day disabled list on Monday with a right quadriceps injury, held down the top spot for the second week in a row. Cozart had 1,465,327 votes, while Seager had 1,143,767 and the Cubs' Addison Russell sat in third with 967,495 votes. If Seager were to take the top spot, he would be the first Dodgers shortstop to start an All-Star Game since Bill Russell in 1980. Seager entered Monday batting .281 with nine home runs and 32 RBIs. His 50 runs scored this season are tied for fourth in the National League, and Seager ranks among the league leaders in doubles (18, tied for sixth), walks (44, sixth) and OBP (.392, 11th). Third baseman Justin Turner and catcher Yasmani Grandal are also in the top vote-getters for their position. Turner was in third, with 747,659 votes, and Grandal was fifth (525,432), while Yasiel Puig checked in at 14th among outfielders.

Fans may cast votes for starters at MLB.com and all 30 club sites -- on computers, tablets and smartphones -- exclusively online using the 2017 Esurance MLB All-Star Game Ballot until Thursday, June 29, at 9:59 p.m. MT. On smartphones and tablets, fans can also access the ballot via the MLB.com At Bat and MLB.com Ballpark mobile apps. Vote up to five times in any 24-hour period for a maximum of 35 ballots cast. Following the announcement of the 2017 All-Star starters, reserves and pitchers, fans should return to MLB.com and cast their 2017 Esurance MLB All-Star Game Final Vote for the final player on each league's All-Star roster. Then on Tuesday, July 11, while watching the 2017 All-Star Game presented by MasterCard live on FOX, fans may visit MLB.com to submit their choices for the Ted Williams Most Valuable Player Award presented by Chevrolet with the 2017 MLB All-Star Game MVP Vote. The 88th Midsummer Classic, at Marlins Park in Miami, will be televised nationally by FOX Sports; in Canada by Rogers Sportsnet and RDS; and worldwide by partners in more than 160 countries. ESPN Radio and ESPN Radio Deportes will provide exclusive national radio coverage, while MLB Network, MLB.com and SiriusXM will have comprehensive All-Star Week coverage. For more information about MLB All-Star Week and to purchase tickets, please visit AllStarGame.com and follow @AllStarGame on social media. Fields to Triple-A as Romo returns to 'pen By Joshua Thornton LOS ANGELES -- After a recent string of rough outings for Josh Fields, the Dodgers optioned the right-handed reliever to Triple-A Oklahoma City and activated reliever Sergio Romo from the 10-day disabled list on Monday. In four of his last five outings, Fields allowed at least one home run. Dodgers manager Dave Roberts said the move was a chance for Fields to "reset." "Look at the videos, and it's just misexecution," Roberts said. "They're not foul balls or fly balls. They've just been home runs. This, certainly for him and our belief in him, is not punitive at all. He's still having a good year, and we expect him to have a great year when he gets back." Replacing Fields in the interim is Romo. Romo was placed on the DL on June 9 with an left ankle sprain and made two rehab appearances for Class A Advanced Rancho Cucamonga. The righty also has had his share of troubles, giving up 14 earned runs and five homers in 19 2/3 innings this season. "He feels good," Roberts said. "The ankle feels good. The body feels good. He was executing pitches. He's happy to be back. Ready to go." Worth noting • Roberts said Kenta Maeda, who started on Sunday against the Reds, will return. The righty tossed five innings and allowed one run on three hits in the Dodgers' 5-3 win. Maeda was taken out of the Dodgers rotation on June 7, but got the nod Sunday to give Clayton Kershaw and Co. an extra day between starts.

"With our starters and with his obviously versatility, we want to keep him sharp," Roberts said. "He's going to be down for the next few days and get back in there in the 'pen. But things obviously with us can change." • Dodgers first baseman Adrian Gonzalez received an epidural shot for a back injury he sustained June 11 against the Reds. Gonzalez was placed on the 10-day DL on June 12 for the second time in his 14-year career. Gonzalez missed 12 games earlier this season with right elbow soreness. Roberts said the Dodgers hope Gonzalez will be back before the All-Star break on July 10. After hitting his 21st home run in just 51 games, we ranked Cody Bellinger's five best dingers By Michael Clair It may be the era of the home run, but even Cody Bellinger has managed to rise above the cacophony of dingers. After homering twice in Monday's game against the Mets, Bellinger now has 21 dingers in his first 51 games. That makes the Dodger rookie the fastest to reach 21 homers. Previously, Gary Sanchez (last year) and Wally Berger (1930), held the mark with 20 long balls in 51 games. Bellinger passed his dad's career home run-mark weeks ago and joined Albert Pujols as the only players 21-years-old or younger with 20-plus dingers before the All-Star break. He has five multi-home run games -- putting him ahead of Jay Bruce for the most in the Majors this year. With Bellinger -- er, I suppose we should call him Belldinger now -- blasting homers at a 67 home run pace over a full 162-game season, let's take a look at our five favorite so far. Yes, we're aware of how strange it is to be writing this just two months into his big league career. But he forced our hand. 5. The first Where it all began. When Bellinger was first called up to the big leagues on April 25, it wasn't clear how long the slugger would be in the Majors. Was he just be an injury replacement until Joc Pederson came off the DL? Would he be kept out of the lineup against lefties? Then, on April 29, he hit his first big league homer against Zach Eflin. Just two innings after his first home run he went deep again -- this time clanging it off the foul pole. Naturally, it was during one of the weirdest endings to a game this season. 4. The longest For Bellinger's next magic trick, he converted Jhoulys Chacin's offering into a Statcast-projected 438-foot blast. This one was left over the heart of the plate, but Bellinger would soon prove that it doesn't matter where the ball is thrown ... 3. The first grand slam

Listen, a grand slam is impressive, OK? But what's far more impressive is that Bellinger smashed this home run on a two-strike, 95-mph fastball that was up near his eyes. This was no lucky swing that happened to get out. It's as if Bellinger wanted to go behind in the count -- just to maximize the pain the Padres would feel when this ball left the yard. 2. The 12th-inning moonshot The Brewers and Dodgers went deep into the night on June 2, without many runs to show for it. After Yasmani Grandal homered to send the teams to extra innings in the top of the ninth, Bellinger hit a high arcing shot into the depleted stands in the 12th inning to give the Dodgers a 2-1 victory. 1. Off Andrew Miller While Bellinger has more than held his own against southpaws -- entering Monday's action with a higher OPS against same-side hurlers than righties -- that doesn't mean you'd expect a rookie to handle Miller. After all, Miller is the relief ace that not only blitzed the Indians to the World Series last year, but has served as the template for other multi-inning stoppers like Chris Devenski. But even Miller could do nothing but crane his neck skyward and watch as Bellinger rounded the bases. For seemingly nothing can stop the dreaded Belldinger. Pipeline Preview: Buehler seeking another strong start By Mike Rosenbaum Here's a look at top prospects to watch in today's Minor League action: Hitter to watch: Chance Sisco (Orioles' No. 1), Norfolk at Durham (7:05 p.m. ET on MiLB.TV) Sisco filled out the box score on Monday as he went 2-for-2 with a solo home run, three walks and four runs scored to lead Triple-A Norfolk past Durham. It was the seventh multihit performance in the last nine games for MLB Pipeline's No. 87 overall prospect, who has raised his season average from .253 to .284 during that stretch. Pitcher to watch: Walker Buehler (Dodgers' No. 4), Tulsa at Springfield (7:30 p.m. ET on MiLB.TV) Buehler, No. 81 overall, has completed five innings in three straight starts, while allowing two or fewer earned runs in each outing. The 22-year-old righty has pitched to a 3.04 ERA with 29 strikeouts and a .247 opponents' average in 26 2/3 innings (six starts) since being promoted to Double-A Tulsa. Prior to that, Buehler piled up 27 strikeouts in 16 1/3 innings while registering a 1.10 ERA in the California League. Duel of the day: Yohander Mendez (Rangers' No. 2) vs. Grant Holmes (A's No. 3), Frisco vs. Midland (8:05 p.m. ET on MiLB.TV) Set to make his 14th start for Double-A Frisco, Mendez, No. 48 on the Top 100, will attempt to bounce back after he allowed a season-worst six earned runs on nine hits in six innings in his last outing. The 22-

year-old lefty is still having a strong season, as he enters the day with a 3.78 ERA, 1.12 WHIP and .212 opponents' average in 81 innings. Holmes, like Mendez, is also looking to right the ship after he was tagged for seven earned runs on 12 hits in four innings in his last start for Midland. The No. 74 overall prospect continues to miss his share of bats, with 71 strikeouts in 66 innings, but he's proven very hittable in the Texas League this season, as evidenced by opposing hitters' .295/.370/.432 slash line against him. Tuesday's Minor League All-Star Games Class A Advanced Carolina League (7:05 p.m. ET on MiLB.TV) Class A Midwest League (7:05 p.m. ET on MiLB.TV) Class A South Atlantic League (7:30 p.m. ET on MiLB.TV) Class A Advanced California League (10 p.m. ET) Tuesday's Top 100 prospect probables No. 61 Carson Fulmer (White Sox No. 6), Charlotte at Gwinnett (7:05 p.m. ET on MiLB.TV) No. 63 Matt Manning (Tigers' No. 1), Connecticut vs. Tri-City (7:05 p.m. ET on MiLB.TV) More top prospect probables Chris Lee (Orioles' No. 6) vs. Ryan Yarbrough (Rays' No. 23), Norfolk at Durham (Triple-A) Frank Duncan (D-backs' No. 24), Reno vs. Las Vegas (Triple-A) Jalen Beeks (Red Sox's No. 28), Pawtucket vs. Lehigh Valley (Triple-A) Conner Greene (Blue Jays' No. 7), New Hampshire vs. Harrisbrug (Double-A) Sam Coonrod (Giants' No. 11), Richmond vs. Hartford (Double-A) Foster Griffin (Royals' No. 20), NW Arkansas at Arkansas (Double-A) David Hess (Orioles' No. 27), Bowie at Binghamton (Double-A) Justin Dunn (Mets' No. 3), St. Lucie at Daytona (Class A Advanced) Sandy Baez (Tigers' No. 10) vs. Angel Perdomo (Blue Jays' No. 20), Lakeland at Dunedin (Class A Advanced) Ricardo Sanchez (Braves' No. 19), Florida at Tampa (Class A Advanced) Connor Jones (Cardinals' No. 21) vs. Genesis Cabrera (Rays' No. 28), Palm Beach at Charlotte (Class A Advanced) Elvin Rodriguez (eAngels' No. 19), Orem vs. Ogden (Rookie)

LA TIMES

Cody Bellinger's nightly home run derby barrage leads Dodgers to 10-6 win By Bill Shaikin As the Dodgers have crossed these United States this month, from Missouri to Wisconsin, to California and then through Ohio, Cody Bellinger hears the same question. Home run derby, yay or nay?

There is a third option, one so audacious that few would dare attempt it. See, Bellinger doesn’t need a batting-practice pitcher to go deep just about every night. He is turning the Dodgers schedule into his own home run derby. He does not need to go to the actual derby to make people take notice of his slugging prowess. He makes folks go back, back, back into the record books every time he circles the bases. Bellinger hit two more home runs Monday at Dodger Stadium, driving in four runs and powering the Dodgers to a 10-6 victory over the New York Mets. Justin Turner had four hits, including a home run, drove in four runs and lifted his batting average to .399. For the second straight day — this one in a game started by Clayton Kershaw, no less — the Dodgers opened up a seven-run lead but could not complete the game without closer Kenley Jansen getting loose. Chris Hatcher walked the bases loaded in the eighth inning, bringing Jose Reyes to the plate, representing the tying run. Reyes had homered twice against Kershaw; Hatcher struck him out. Bellinger said he would love to participate in the home run derby if asked. He would get his father to pitch to him. Could Dodgers' Kenley Jansen be halfway to no-walk MVP season? “It’d be cool,” he said. “I think it would be pretty special.” He spotted the rest of the National League three weeks and leads the league in home runs. “That’s a pretty good indicator they should invite him,” Kershaw said. Bellinger has 21 home runs, the first major league player to hit so many in the first 51 games of his career. If he keeps his current pace, he would finish with 58, but manager Dave Roberts said it would be “absurd” for Bellinger to keep up that pace. The franchise record is 49, by Shawn Green in 2001. The franchise player on display Monday was Kershaw, the three-time Cy Young Award winner. For the first time in his career, Kershaw gave up four home runs. He has given up 17 home runs, a career high in a season not quite to the halfway point. He started the seventh inning at 100 pitches. He did not finish the inning, yanked after Reyes took him deep for the second time in the game. Kershaw walked off the field, stomped around the dugout, then kicked the bench with his right foot. He gave up six earned runs, the first time he had done so in more than three years. He said he had two options to rebound, the first of which involved extensive analysis to replay and rethink every pitch. “Or you can say screw it and come back tomorrow,” he said. “I’m going to go with the latter.”

He also walked one batter and struck out 10, meaning the stuff was fine but the location was not. Besides the home runs, the Mets went two for 20 against Kershaw, with no extra-base hits. Bellinger brought a buzz to the evening. He homered in his first two at-bats and, if Scooter Gennett could hit four in a game, why not Bellinger? In the third at-bat, Bellinger struck out, twice swinging from his heels. “I don’t blame him,” Roberts said. “I told him anybody can hit two home runs. I wanted to see him hit three myself.” Before Bellinger’s fourth at-bat, Dodgers co-owner and Lakers president of basketball operations Magic Johnson tweeted his congratulations to the rookie. Two home runs, the major league record for fastest to 21, and the NL lead in home runs? As Johnson is well aware, the two words that might best describe Bellinger at this point are these: Big baller. Dodgers activate Sergio Romo, demote Josh Fields By Bill Shaikin The Dodgers swapped relievers on Monday, activating Sergio Romo and sending Josh Fields to triple-A Oklahoma City. Fields was unscored upon in his first eight appearances this season and carried an earned-run average below 1.00 into the first week of June. However, in his last five appearances, he has given up seven runs — including five home runs — in 4 2/3 innings. Romo has not pitched since June 4 because of a sprained ankle. He has a 6.41 ERA in 24 appearances this season. Gonzalez update First baseman Adrian Gonzalez received an epidural injection to combat the discomfort stemming from the herniated disk in his back, manager Dave Roberts said. Gonzalez has been on the disabled list for one week. Roberts said the Dodgers “hope” he can return before the All-Star break, which is three weeks away. Gonzalez, 35, a five-time All-Star, is batting .255 with one home run. His .335 slugging percentage ranks 121st among the 126 National Leaguers with at least 150 plate appearances. Short hops

Corey Seager has fallen more than 300,000 votes behind the Cincinnati Reds’ Zack Cozart in balloting to decide the National League’s starting shortstop at the All-Star game. No other Dodgers player ranks as high as second at his position. Voting extends another two weeks. … Roberts said Kenta Maeda, who gave up one run and drove in two as the starting and winning pitcher Sunday, would return to the bullpen. Maeda earned the victory by giving up one run in five innings, his longest outing since May 25. … Infielder Logan Forsythe and outfielder Yasiel Puig had the day off Monday. Could Dodgers' Kenley Jansen be halfway to no-walk MVP season? By Bill Shaikin Could Kenley Jansen really pitch an entire season without walking a batter? It’s a crazy thought except, well, the season is just about halfway done and Jansen hasn’t walked anyone. The Dodgers’ closer has faced 107 batters, struck out 50 and walked none. “It’s awesome, man,” Jansen said. “I’m not taking it for granted. I’m doing something that has never been done before. “It’s awesome to be living in this moment.”

OC REGISTER Cody Bellinger hits two more homers as Dodgers beat Mets, 10-6 By Bill Plunkett LOS ANGELES – Dodgers rookie Cody Bellinger might or might not get an invitation to the Home Run Derby at the All-Star Game in Miami next month. So he’s starting without them. Bellinger hit home runs in his first two at-bats Monday night as the Dodgers scored seven times in the first two innings and hung on for a 10-6 win over the New York Mets. There were eight home runs hit in the game (four by each team). Justin Turner and Chris Taylor also went deep for the Dodgers, who won their fourth consecutive game and 10th in their past 11 games. For Bellinger, the home runs were his 20th and 21st in 51 games since he was promoted from Triple-A on April 25. No other player in the majors has hit more than 17 homers in that time and no other player in major-league history has hit as many in his first 51 big-league games. “Yeah, it’s crazy,” Bellinger said with a smile. “A month and a half ago, if you told me what I was going to do, I probably would have called you crazy. But for me, like I’ve said before, I’m going to come in tomorrow and do my same routine and try to have good at-bats.”

Bellinger was asked if he knew who led his league in home runs. After guessing Aaron Judge – the overall leader with 23 for the New York Yankees – Bellinger was reminded that Judge plays in the American League. “Oh,” he said. “I don’t know – me?” Bellinger broke into laughter at that point but it is indeed the rookie who leads the National League in home runs. Monday’s multi-homer game was Bellinger’s fifth, tying Mike Piazza (in 1993) for the most by a Dodgers rookie. Piazza had his fifth on Oct. 3 that year, the final day of the regular season. The Dodgers still have 91 games to go this season. “This pace – if you kind of pro-rate these numbers, I mean, that’s absurd,” Dodgers manager Dave Roberts said of Bellinger, who has hit a home run every 9.2 at-bats. “But I think the quality of at-bat can continue.” Bellinger isn’t the only Dodger putting up startling home run numbers this season – so is the team’s ace, Clayton Kershaw. Kershaw gave up four home runs Monday night – two to Jose Reyes and one each to Jay Bruce and Gavin Cecchini. For Cecchini – the Mets’ No. 8 hitter who had a total of 27 home runs in six minor-league seasons – it was his first major-league home run. That set career-highs for home runs allowed in a game and a season for Kershaw, who has allowed 17 in 15 starts this season (one more than he gave up over 33 starts in 2012). Kershaw has allowed more than one home run in four of his starts this season, matching the number of multi-homer games he had in 81 starts over the previous three seasons. Five times in his career, Kershaw has allowed three or more home runs in a start. Three of those games have been this season – April 8 in Colorado, May 28 at home against the Chicago Cubs and Monday against the Mets. “No, I don’t know,” Kershaw said when asked if he could explain those numbers. “You hope mistakes are hit for singles or doubles or whatever. It just so happens mine are being hit out of the ballpark right now. I don’t know what you do to change that other than stop making mistakes, I guess.” Kershaw’s mistakes are leaving the park at a career-high rate even though his hard-hit percentage, strikeout rate and fly-ball rate are all around his career norm. Kershaw said he had “no theory” to explain that and neither did Roberts. “That’s a good question. I don’t have an answer,” Roberts said. “His track record – I think and I’m certain that it will even out. This pace of giving up home runs for Clayton, I definitely don’t see it continuing.” Reyes’ second home run, a two-run shot into the left-field pavilion, ended Kershaw’s night with one out in the seventh inning. The six runs he allowed were the most he has given up in a start since April 11, 2015 in Arizona and the most earned runs he has allowed in a start since he gave up seven to the Diamondbacks at Chase Field on May 17, 2014.

And yet, he became the first 10-game winner in the National League this season thanks to an offense that has averaged seven runs per game over their past 10 and had a season-high 17 hits Monday (including four from Turner and three from Bellinger). “We’ve got a lot of guys swinging the bats really well and they picked me up today,” Kershaw said. “There’s two ways to go. You can either try to rethink everything when you have a start like this or you can just say, ‘Screw it’ and come back tomorrow and act like it didn’t happen. “I’m going to go with the latter for now, I think.” Dodgers Notes: Josh Fields heads to Triple-A as Sergio Romo returns to bullpen By Bill Plunkett LOS ANGELES – Ohio was not kind to the Dodgers’ bullpen. During last week’s six-game trip to Cleveland and Cincinnati, the Dodgers’ relief corps – which started the trip with the lowest ERA in the National League – had an 8.20 ERA, a 1.61 WHIP and seven home runs allowed in the six games. Take away closer Kenley Jansen’s four scoreless appearances and the rest of the bullpen’s ERA was 9.98 on the trip. Over the past nine games (including three at home against the Reds), the bullpen ERA minus Jansen was 7.71 with 10 home runs allowed in nine games. The Dodgers won eight of those nine games thanks to an offense that averaged 6.7 runs per game against Ohio’s teams. But the bullpen’s numbers over that stretch made change inevitable. Long man Ross Stripling was demoted to Triple-A Oklahoma City on Friday after giving up three-run home runs in each of his previous two outings. And Monday, right-hander Josh Fields followed him with right-hander Sergio Romo activated from the disabled list. Through the end of May, Fields was the Dodgers’ most reliable setup man. He was charged with just two runs in his first 22 appearances, striking out 27 of the first 83 batters he faced and allowing only one home run. Over his past five appearances, however, Fields was charged with seven runs in 4 2/3 innings. He allowed six hits to the 23 batters he faced in that time and five of them were home runs. “You look back at the video and it’s just some missed execution and they’re not foul balls or fly balls. They’ve just been home runs,” Dodgers manager Dave Roberts said. Roberts said the demotion is “not punitive at all” for Fields, who might be feeling the weight of his workload. This demotion will allow him to “reset” and “give him a breather” with the OKC Dodgers. “I still have a lot of confidence in Josh and I know he’ll be back soon,” Roberts said. “He’s still having a great year and we expect him to have a great year when he gets back.” Romo was not having a great year when he went to the DL with a sprained left ankle about 10 days ago. He had a 6.41 ERA and 1.37 WHIP in 24 appearances for the Dodgers before going on the DL with five home runs allowed in 19-2/3 innings.

Romo made two appearances for Class-A Rancho Cucamonga on a rehab assignment over the weekend. He allowed one run on three hits over three innings while striking out two. PITCHING PLANS The Dodgers will juggle their rotation in advance of this weekend’s series against the Colorado Rockies. Left-hander Hyun-Jin Ryu will move up a day and start Thursday in the series finale against the New York Mets. That allows left-hander Alex Wood (7-0 with a 1.90 ERA this season) to move back and start against the Rockies on Friday. Left-hander Clayton Kershaw (Saturday) and right-hander Brandon McCarthy (Sunday) line up to start the rest of the series against the Rockies. Meanwhile, right-hander Kenta Maeda will be unavailable for a few days after going five innings in his start at Cincinnati on Sunday. Then Maeda will return to a long relief role in the bullpen with the Dodgers returning to a five-man rotation again. “But obviously with us, things can change,” Roberts said. GONZALEZ STATUS First baseman Adrian Gonzalez received an epidural injection to relieve the discomfort he is feeling from a herniated disc in his back. “He said he’s moving around a little stiff but feels better, got some relief,” Roberts said. Gonzalez went on the DL for the second time this season after his back “locked up” on him during the Dodgers’ game against the Reds eight days ago. Roberts said “my hope, our hope” is Gonzalez can return some time before the All-Star break in three weeks. Gonzalez also received an epidural injection in May of last season. On deck: Mets at Dodgers, Tuesday, 7:10 p.m. By Bill Plunkett METS at DODGERS When: Tuesday, 7:10 p.m. Where: Dodger Stadium TV: SportsNet LA (where available); ESPN THE PITCHERS DODGERS RHP BRANDON McCARTHY (5-3, 3.14 ERA)

Vs. Mets: 0-2, 3.55 ERA At Dodger Stadium: 7-2, 3.86 ERA Hates to face: Wilmer Flores, 1 for 3 (.333) Loves to face: Jose Reyes, 0 for 6 METS RHP ROBERT GSELLMAN (5-4, 5.50 ERA) Vs. Dodgers: Has never faced them before UPCOMING Wednesday – Mets (TBD) at Dodgers (LHP Rich Hill, 3-3, 5.14 ERA), 7:10 p.m., SportsNet LA, ESPN Thursday – Mets (LHP Steven Matz, 1-1, 3.21 ERA) at Dodgers (LHP Hyun-Jin Ryu, 3-6, 4.35 ERA), 7:10 p.m., SportsNet LA, MLB Network (out of market only)

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Real or not? Cody Bellinger makes All-Star push, Jose Ramirez an All-Star lock By David Schoenfield Your turn, Aaron Judge. In the battle of rookie sensations, Los Angeles Dodgers phenom Cody Bellinger hit his 20th home run in the first inning in Monday's win over the New York Mets and then cracked his 21st in the second inning, both off Zack Wheeler. That's nine home runs in nine games -- including three two-homer games -- and he's now tied with Logan Morrison for second in the majors behind Judge's 23. Of course, Bellinger has astonishingly done this in just 51 games, since he didn't make his debut until April 25. He's already just the fourth player 21 or younger to have 20 home runs by the All-Star break, joining Eddie Mathews (27 in 1953), Albert Pujols (21 in 2001) and Miguel Cabrera (20 in 2004). That leads us to this: How do we get Bellinger on the National League All-Star team? Because we all want Bellinger there. Even Giants. He's young, he's exciting, and he's mashing baseballs over fences. Let's go through the roster. There are 32 players on the team (not including injuries), including 12 pitchers. The fans vote for the eight starting position players while the players vote in a backup at each position. Bellinger wasn't on the ballot and it's unlikely the players vote him in as a reserve for two reasons: (1) Their voting seems to be done between mid-May to early June (players with hot starts

always do better in their results). (2) He has split his time between outfield and the first base, making it unclear where players would list him. Beyond that, if he was considered at first base, that position is loaded: Ryan Zimmerman leads the voting, and then you have Paul Goldschmidt, Joey Votto, Anthony Rizzo, Eric Thames and Justin Bour all having All-Star seasons (plus Freddie Freeman before his injury), with Thames doubling as the best option to represent the Brewers. That leaves four reserves, but one of those is saved for the final player vote. Here's what the first 16 position player spots may look like, with the current vote leader listed first followed by the likely backup: C -- Buster Posey, J.T. Realmuto 1B -- Ryan Zimmerman, Paul Goldschmidt 2B -- Daniel Murphy, Josh Harrison 3B -- Kris Bryant, Nolan Arenado SS -- Zack Cozart, Corey Seager OF -- Bryce Harper, Marcell Ozuna OF -- Charlie Blackmon, Giancarlo Stanton OF -- Jason Heyward, Jay Bruce Yeah, that Heyward vote is weird. If he maintains his lead, he's going to cost a more deserving player a spot. The backup catcher could be somebody else -- Yadier Molina, Yasmani Grandal or Matt Wieters. Realmuto has the best offensive numbers. There's no clear No. 2 guy at second base, but let's go with Harrison. Players seem to like him and he's having the best season behind Murphy. In the outfield, the players always like the power and RBI guys. Michael Conforto could be in that mix as well. For teams needing a rep, the Padres will certainly see one of their relievers selected, probably Brad Hand. The Phillies have just two legit options, outfielder Aaron Altherr and reliever Pat Neshek. For the Braves, Brandon Phillips could be voted in as the backup at second base, or maybe the players recognize Ender Inciarte and his defense in the outfield. Matt Kemp is another possibility. I'm thinking Carlos Martinez reps the Cardinals. Our three probable backups -- chosen now by the MLB office, not the manager -- at this point would be Thames (Brewers rep), Grandal (they usually select three catchers) and either Inciarte or Kemp for the Braves. That leaves Neshek for the Phillies and squeezes out Bellinger -- not to mention Votto, Rizzo, Conforto, Jake Lamb, Justin Turner and Anthony Rendon. We'd have more flexibility for Bellinger if Ozuna (currently fifth in the voting) caught Heyward and Phillips is voted in over Harrison (with Ivan Nova repping the Pirates). You could replace Thames with Chase Anderson or Jimmy Nelson, but as great as Bellinger has been, he hasn't been as valuable overall as Thames or Votto or Rizzo or any of those other players I couldn't find room for on the roster.

So it's going to be difficult to get him on the team, unless he's included on the final player vote, which I suspect he'd have a pretty good chance at winning. Jose Ramirez is awesome and so is Corey Kluber. The Cleveland Indians are finally looking like last year's club and clobbered the Baltimore Orioles 12-0 for their sixth win in a row. Kluber became just the fifth Indians pitcher ever to toss a road shutout with at least 10 strikeouts, joining Josh Tomlin (2014), Bert Blyleven (1985), Early Wynn (1955) and, of course, Heinie Berger in 1909. Via ESPN researcher Sarah Langs, how Kluber beat the Orioles: Seven K's on his curveball, most this season, and all were swinging. 67 percent chase on curveballs outside the strike zone. Fourth start this season with at least 70 percent first-pitch strike rate; had five such starts all last season. Kluber's outing was impressive, but I'm more impressed by this amazing tally, courtesy of Elias Sports Bureau research: Ramirez went 3-for-6 with two doubles and a triple and is apparently the first player since 1900 with 14 extra-base hits in a seven-game span. I would have thought it might be higher, somebody who reeled off a bunch of doubles, or some slugger who mashed 10 home runs or something. (In fact, Shawn Green had 10 homers in a seven-game span around his 6-for-6, four-homer game in 2002, but just 13 total extra-base hits.) Anyway, Ramirez's remarkable stretch: 6/19: 3-for-6, 2 2Bs, 3B 6/18: 3-for-4, 2 2Bs 6/17: 2-for-5, 2B 6/17: 3-for-5, 2B, 2 HRs 6/16: 3-for-4, 2 2Bs 6/15: 3-for-5, 2B 6/14: 2-for-4, 2B, HR In seven games, Ramirez raised his average from .279 to .318 and his slugging percentage from .464 to .561. Put that man on the American League All-Star team. The 2017 San Francisco Giants summed up in one tweet. Yes, it has been a rough season: Cueto gave up two runs in seven innings, before the Atlanta Braves tacked on seven runs against the Giants' bullpen. Ouch.

Pick me out a winner, Bobby. Cubs prospect Eloy Jimenez did this at the Carolina League Home Run Derby (pay close attention to the lights): Jimenez is one of the top prospects in the minors and is playing his way into midseason top-10 lists. His season didn't start until mid-May after suffering a bone bruise in his shoulder during spring training, but at age 20 he's hitting .278/.381/.546 with seven home runs in 97 at-bats. He combines power potential with solid contact skills (18 K's in 113 PAs), and, with 15 walks, he has improved his plate discipline from last year. Look for a promotion to Double-A later in the summer. In bad news from the prospect world, Yankees infielder Gleyber Torres will miss the rest of the season after undergoing Tommy John surgery. Torres was hitting well enough after his promotion to Triple-A that he looked like a potential call-up before Sept. 1. If you didn't think the ball was juiced ... Clayton Kershaw allowed four home runs in that Mets-Dodgers game, first time he has done that in his career. Jose Reyes tagged him twice, first player to do that since Jay Bruce in 2012. Two of the home runs came off his curveball, the first time that has happened in one game. He has now allowed 17 home runs -- already a career high. Bellinger fastest to 21 HRs; Dodgers outslug Mets 10-6 By The Associated Press LOS ANGELES -- Cody Bellinger has 21 home runs, matching his age. No hitter in history has gotten off to such a powerful start. The rookie slugger launched two more long balls to set a major league record, and Clayton Kershaw notched his 10th win despite giving up a career-high four homers Monday night as the Los Angeles Dodgers held on for a 10-6 victory over the New York Mets. Bellinger reached 21 home runs in 51 career games -- faster than any other big league player. Despite spotting the rest of the NL three weeks before he was called up from the minors, the 21-year-old first baseman leads the league in homers. "It's unbelievable," Mets manager Terry Collins said. "This guy swings a bat and he hits it on the barrel. Pretty impressive." Bellinger had his fifth multihomer game of the season, tying five others for the second-most by a rookie. Mark McGwire holds the record with seven. "You just have a really good feeling that every time he's up to the plate, he's going to do some damage," Kershaw said. "Everything he's hitting is hit really hard. His outs are loud outs right now."

Kershaw (10-2) struck out 10 and became the first 10-game winner in the National League despite giving up plenty of hard hits himself. The three-time Cy Young Award winner already has allowed a career-high 17 homers this year. "I don't know. I'm giving up a lot of home runs right now," Kershaw said. "You hope your mistakes are hit for singles or doubles. It just so happens mine are going out of the ballpark right now. I don't know what you do to change that, other than stop making mistakes." Justin Turner hit a two-run homer and Chris Taylor had a solo shot for the Dodgers, who jumped out to a 7-0 lead against struggling Mets starter Zack Wheeler (3-5) in the first two innings. Turner had four hits and four RBI against his former team. Bellinger also drove in four runs. "You cannot spot Clayton Kershaw seven runs and expect to come out on top," Collins said. "We just couldn't stop them." Kershaw allowed two homers to Jose Reyes, including a two-run drive in the seventh inning. Jay Bruce also connected and rookie Gavin Cecchini hit a two-run shot for New York. It was Cecchini's first homer in his ninth career at-bat. Kershaw was charged with six runs on six hits and a walk in 6 1/3 innings. His ERA jumped from an NL-best 2.23 to 2.61. Los Angeles' first five batters got hits, including Bellinger's three-run homer. Bellinger followed Turner's home run in the second with a solo shot. The Dodgers finished with a season-high 17 hits. They have won 10 of 11 and are a season-high 19 games over .500 at 45-26. Wheeler gave up seven runs and eight hits in two innings. He was coming off the worst start of his career last Tuesday, when he lasted only 1 2/3 innings against the Cubs. The right-hander's ERA has risen from 3.45 to 5.29 in two outings. RARE AIR Gary Sanchez (2016 New York Yankees) and Wally Berger (1930 Boston Braves) both had 20 home runs through 51 games, but it took Berger 55 games and Sanchez 59 to reach the 21-homer mark. DERBY DISCUSSION Bellinger said he hasn't been asked to participate in the Home Run Derby during All-Star festivities in Miami next month, but would be a willing participant. "I think it would be pretty cool," he said. "It would be pretty special if my dad could throw to me. He's been throwing BP to me my whole life." Bellinger's father, Clay, played in the majors from 1999-2002 with the Yankees and Angels. He hit 12 home runs in 183 career games.

TRAINER'S ROOM Mets: LF Yoenis Cespedes was back in the lineup after getting his first full day off Sunday since coming off the disabled list. Cespedes missed six weeks with a strained hamstring before returning June 10 and playing eight consecutive games (six starts). He was hitting .458 since his return. ... CF Juan Lagares had surgery in New York to repair a fracture in his left thumb. Dodgers: 1B Adrian Gonzalez received an epidural for his herniated disk. Dodgers manager Dave Roberts said the team remains hopeful Gonzalez will return before the All-Star break. ... Right-handed reliever Sergio Romo (left ankle sprain) was activated from the DL and struggling RHP Josh Fields was optioned to Triple-A Oklahoma City. UP NEXT Mets: RHP Robert Gsellman (5-4, 5.50 ERA) is coming off his worst outing of the season, when he yielded seven earned runs on a career-high 11 hits and two walks in five innings against the Nationals in New York. On the road this season, Gsellman is 4-1 with a 4.32 ERA. Dodgers: RHP Brandon McCarthy (5-3, 3.14) has allowed more than two runs in only two of his previous 11 starts. He is 3-1 with a 2.83 ERA in six starts at Dodger Stadium.

TRUE BLUE LA Justin Turner & Cody Bellinger lead Dodgers offensive barrage By Eric Stephen Justin Turner and Cody Bellinger got the Dodgers off to an early start, and provided enough cushion to overcome an unprecedented home run barrage against Clayton Kershaw, in beating the Mets 10-6 on Monday night at Dodger Stadium. The Dodgers opened things with five straight hits against Zach Wheeler, culminating in a three-run home run by Bellinger to cap a four-run inning. Turner added a two-run shot in the second inning, followed by a solo shot from Bellinger, putting the latter into the history books as the fastest in MLB history to 21 career home runs. Bellinger is also the first Dodgers rookie to hit 10 home runs in a month. That gave the Dodgers a 7-0 lead, seemingly insurmountable with Kershaw on the mound. Kershaw had the type of stuff that might normally suggest those seven runs were overkill. After all, he struck out 10 and walked one in 6⅓ innings. But he allowed solo home runs to Jose Reyes in the third inning and Jay Bruce in the fourth, enough to notice that Kershaw has allowed more home runs than normal this season. Gavin Cecchini then hit a two-run shot in the fifth inning for his first major league home run, pulling the Mets to within 7-4.

Turner answered with an RBI double in the sixth inning, his third hit of the game, extending the Dodgers’ lead to 8-4. He later added a single in the ninth, and also walked, reaching base five times. Turner has a 14-game hitting streak, and on the season is hitting an absurd .399/.478/.549, just 18 plate appearance shy of qualifying for the leaderboards. During his 14-game hitting streak, Turner has 10 multi-hit games and is hitting .510 (26-for-51). Bellinger and Turner each drove in four runs on Monday, the first pair of Dodgers teammates to do so since Adrian Gonzalez (eight RBI) and Andrew Toles (four) on Aug. 22, 2016 in Cincinnati. Kershaw was allowed to bat in the sixth, even though he was at 100 pitches and allowed three home runs to that point. He got one out in the seventh, but then Reyes took him deep again to cut the Dodgers’ lead to just 8-6, ending Kershaw’s night unceremoniously. Kershaw allowed four home runs in a game for the first time in his career, and has allowed 17 home runs in a season for the first time as well. The six runs allowed by Kershaw were the most this season, and the most given up by Kershaw since Apr. 11, 2015 against Arizona. It has been a weird season for Kershaw because, despite the 17 home runs, he still owns a 2.61 ERA, roughly a 160 ERA+. There have only been eight seasons in major league history of a pitcher allowing 25 or more home runs with an ERA+ of 160 or better. The best ERA+ of the group was 195, by Randy Johnson in 2002, when he allowed 26 home runs. The Dodgers gave themselves some breathing room in the seventh inning with two more runs, including a solo home run by Chris Taylor. That gave both teams four home runs on the night. There have only been three games in the history of Dodger Stadium that saw both teams hitting four or more home runs. Two of those games have been the Dodgers’ last two home games — the end of the last homestand, on June 11 against Cincinnati; and Monday night. The other game came in 2003 against the Cardinals. The Dodgers hit five home runs in that game — two by Jeromy Burnitz, and one each from the eclectic trio of David Ross, Adrian Beltre, and Rickey Henderson. With a four-run lead, the Dodgers in the eighth turned to Chris Hatcher, who was cascaded with boos by loading the bases with two walks and a single, and that doesn’t count the screaming out to the left field warning track. But with Reyes at the plate representing the tying run, Hatcher got out of his own jam with a strikeout. The Dodgers scored double-digit runs for the ninth time in 2017. They have won all nine games. The club scored 10 or more runs 13 total times in 2016. Up next

The Dodgers go for a fifth win in a row on Tuesday night, with Brandon McCarthy starting a 7:10 p.m. PT game. Robert Gsellman starts for the Mets, and the ESPN broadcast will not be blacked out in Los Angeles. In another pitching rotation shuffle, the Dodgers made a switch on Monday. Hyun-jin Ryu will now start the series finale against the Mets on Thursday, with Alex Wood moved to Friday night in the opener of a divisional showdown series against the Rockies. Monday particulars Home runs: Cody Bellinger 2 (21), Justin Turner (4), Chris Taylor (9); Jose Reyes 2 (6), Jay Bruce (19), Gavin Cecchini (1) WP - Clayton Kershaw (10-2): 6⅓ IP, 6 hits, 6 runs, 1 walk, 10 strikeouts LP - Zach Wheeler (3-5): 2 IP, 8 hits, 7 runs, 2 strikeouts Carlos Rincon hits 38 HR to win Midwest League Home Run Derby By Eric Stephen It’s the All-Star break for two Dodgers levels, and one minor league outfielder put on a show in his home park on Monday night. Player of the day Carlos Rincón has had his ups and downs in his first season in domestic full-season ball, hitting .230/.299/.464 with Class-A Great Lakes. But the 19-year-old has shown power, with a team-leading 11 home runs in 201 plate appearances, and on Monday night was the man of the hour during the Midwest League Home Run Derby. At his home park at Dow Diamond in Midland, Mich., Rincon hit five home runs in the first round, moving on as one of the top four finishers. Teammate Brendon Davis hit one home run and was eliminated. In the second round, Rincon led the way with 13 home runs, setting up a final round with prized prospect Vladimir Guerrero Jr. In the final round, Guerrero hit five home runs, but Rincon went nuts, hitting a whopping 20 to take the crown, giving him 38 total home runs on the night. Triple-A Oklahoma City Bobby Wilson and Trayce Thompson each hit home runs, but Oklahoma City lost the the Colorado Springs Sky Sox (Brewers), 9-3. Wilmer Font struck out seven but was otherwise unimpressive, walking six and allowing five runs in four innings to take the loss. Double-A Tulsa Edwin Rios and Matt Beaty each homered in the Drillers’ 5-2 win over the Springfield Cardinals on Monday night. Both home runs came in the sixth inning for Tulsa, a four-run inning.

Tulsa ended its first half at 33-37, and opens up the second half on Tuesday. Class-A Rancho Cucamonga Ibandel Isabel hit six home runs in the first round of the Cal League Home Run Derby on Monday night in Visalia, but did not advance. Class-A Great Lakes The Loons were off, with the Midwest League All-Star Game set for Tuesday. Rookie-level Ogden The Raptors opened their 2017 season with a brand new roster and brand new manager, and pulled out a 13-9 road win over the Orem Owlz (Angels). Catcher Hendrik Clementina had four hits, including a double, and four RBI. Third baseman Cristian Santana reached base five times with a home run, a single, and three walks, scoring three runs in the win. Transactions Triple-A: The Dodgers optioned relief pitcher Josh Fields to Oklahoma City. Double-A: Tim Shibuya was activated from the disabled list to start for Tulsa, and went four innings; Isaac Anderson was placed on the temporary inactive list by the Drillers. Monday scores Colorado Springs 9, Oklahoma City 3 Tulsa 5, Springfield 2 Ogden 13, Orem 9 DSL Royals 4, DSL Dodgers1 2 DSL Dodgers2 9, DSL Pirates 0 Tuesday schedule 4:05 p.m. PT: Midwest League All-Star Game 4:30 p.m.: Tulsa (Walker Buehler) at Springfield (Sandy Alcantara) 5:40 p.m.: Oklahoma City (Justin Masterson) at Colorado Springs (Taylor Jungmann) 6:05 p.m.: Ogden (TBD) at Orem (Elvin Rodriguez) 7 p.m.: Cal League All-Star Game

Cody Bellinger the fastest to 21 home runs in major league history By Eric Stephen Cody Bellinger continued his power barrage on Monday, and with home runs in his first two at-bats against the Mets joined select company with his 20th and 21st home runs. Bellinger is the fastest in MLB history to 21 home runs, doing so in 51 games. The previous record was held by Wally Berger (1930). Bellinger tied for the fastest to 20 career home runs, a record jointly held by Berger and Gary Sanchez (2015-16). Bellinger shattered the Dodgers franchise record of fastest to 20 home runs, which used to be 91 games by Frank Howard from 1958-60. But by confining all of his home runs to one season, Bellinger is just the ninth Dodgers rookie to hit 20 home runs. Amazingly, this is the third straight season a Dodgers rookie has done so, with Joc Pederson (2015) and Corey Seager (2016) each hitting 26 home runs in their first season. Mike Piazza still holds the Dodgers rookie record with 35 home runs, and is the only one with more than 26 home runs in that first year. Bellinger still has 91 games remaining this season to continue climbing the list. Monday was Bellinger’s fifth multi-homer game, tying Piazza’s Dodgers rookie record. Bellinger is the first player in MLB history with five multi-homer games in his first 51 games. The previous record for fastest to five multi-homer games was 84 games, by Mark McGwire. With 21 home runs since his call up on Apr. 25 and the Dodgers through 71 team games, Bellinger is on pace for 58 home runs this season. Bellinger’s power surge is memorable not just among Dodgers rookies. Only eight other Dodgers in any season have hit 20 home runs in the first 71 team games, and Bellinger was handicapped by spending the first 20 games of 2017 in Triple-A. At the moment, Bellinger leads the National League lead in home runs, with one more than Eric Thames of the Brewers. Again, Bellinger missed the first 20 games of the season. Ogden Raptors announce opening day roster By Eric Stephen The rookie-level Ogden Raptors, the Dodgers’ short-season affiliate in the Pioneer League, starts its season on Monday night, beginning a 76-game schedule. Ogden has a new manager in Mark Kertenian, a longtime college coach at Cal State Northridge, Nevada, and Florida International, who joined the Dodgers organization in December.

“Having players drafted and signed, and having them return and talk to me about their experiences, it was becoming evident ... that the Dodgers and how they’re developing their farm system and staffs was the best,” Kertenian told Brett Hein of the Standard Examiner in Ogden. “It’s a very holistic and amazing approach to development, so I pursued the Dodgers heavily.” Several 2017 draft picks will eventually find their way to Ogden, but none are on the opening day roster. Among the most intriguing Raptors is Matt Jones, the former first baseman and outfielder drafted by the Dodgers in 2014 who switched to pitching this offseason, back to where he started in college at Nebraska. Bobby Cuellar returns as the pitching coach, and a new hitting coach is 26-year-old Justin Viele, a minor league infielder who played 2013-14 in the Orioles system. Pedro Guerrero also returns as a hitting coach, and Tom Kunis is another coach on the staff. The Raptors open their schedule on the road Monday night at the Orem Owlz (Angels) in a 6:05 p.m. PT start.

DODGER INSIDER

Bellinger, Turner lead home run parade at Dodger Stadium By Rowan Kavner Cody Bellinger said he hasn’t been asked to do the Home Run Derby yet. In the meantime, he continues to treat regular season games like batting practice, launching towering homers at a record pace. Bellinger became the fastest player ever to 21 home runs Monday night, doing so in the 51st Major League game of his career by hitting home runs on each of his first two at-bats on his way to recording three of the Dodgers’ season-high 17 hits in a 10–6 win against the Mets. “I was just told today,” Bellinger said of the record. “It’s crazy how a month and a half ago if you told me what I was going to do, I’d probably call you crazy.” Bellinger’s 20th home run tied him with Eric Thames for the most in the National League. His second gave him the most in the NL, despite Bellinger not even playing his first big-league game until April 25. It was the fifth multi-home run game of the year for Bellinger, who tied Mike Piazza for the most ever by a Dodger rookie. And he’s not even two months into his big-league career. “This pace, if you kind of prorate these numbers, that’s absurd,” said manager Dave Roberts. “But I think the quality of at-bat can continue.” Each of the top five batters in the Dodger lineup finished with multiple hits, led by Justin Turner, who tied a career high with four hits in a 4-for-4 night. Turner extended his hitting streak to 14 games and is now hitting .399/.478/.549/1.027 on the season.

Turner and Chris Taylor also homered on a night the ball carried at Dodger Stadium, with both teams hitting four home runs. The four homers Clayton Kershaw allowed were a career high, but he still left with his 10th win of the season, striking out 10 and walking one while allowing six hits and six runs in 6 1/3 innings. “He made four mistakes,” said Roberts, who thought Kershaw otherwise pitched well. “I thought the stuff was good. I really did. Some of those days the line score doesn’t reflect the stuff.” The long ball was the reason Kershaw allowed six runs in a game for the first time since April 11, 2015, but the Dodger bats picked him up. Chase Utley and Corey Seager picked up two hits apiece hitting in front of Turner, who combined with Bellinger to go 7-for-9 with eight RBI. Bellinger has nine home runs in his last nine games. While he hasn’t been asked about the Home Run Derby yet, it’s something he said he’d be interested in. “I think it’d be cool,” Bellinger said. “It’d be pretty special. My dad’s been throwing BP to me my whole life, so I’d have him throw to me. I think that’d be a cool moment, so yeah, we’ll see.” Romo reinstated, Fields optioned to Triple-A Oklahoma City By Rowan Kavner 06/19 Mets at Dodgers, 7:10 p.m. PT: Chase Utley 2B Corey Seager SS Justin Turner 3B Cody Bellinger 1B Chris Taylor LF Joc Pederson CF Yasmani Grandal C Kiké Hernández RF Clayton Kershaw P The Dodgers reinstated reliever Sergio Romo from the 10-day disabled list and optioned reliever Josh Fields to Triple-A Oklahoma City on Monday before starting their series against the Mets. Romo missed nine games (left ankle sprain) and made two rehab appearances with Single-A Rancho Cucamonga, allowing one run in three innings and striking out two with no walks. Romo last pitched Friday for the Quakes, allowing one run on three hits in two innings. In 24 relief appearances this year for the Dodgers, Romo has gone 1–1 with a 6.41 ERA, striking out 23 in 19 2/3 innings and holding opponents to a .240 batting average.

“Talked to Sergio and he feels good,” manager Dave Roberts said before Monday’s game. The ankle feels good, body feels good, he was executing pitches. He’s happy to be back…He’s active and ready to get right-handed hitters out.” Fields was one of the Dodgers’ most reliable relievers in April and May, entering June with a 0.84 ERA that got down to 0.81, but he’s since seen it rise to 3.00 for the season after a slew of home runs. He last pitched Sunday against the Reds, allowing a season-high three runs on two hits in 2/3 innings. Fields is 3–0 with a save this season, striking out 32 batters in 27 innings with a career-best 1.04 WHIP. Roberts said the most is to give Fields “a chance to reset.” “He’s had a few tough ones, but Josh is a part of what we’re doing now going forward,” Roberts said. “I still have a lot of confidence in Josh, and I know he’ll be back soon. It’s just more of, for him, the overall workload of a season and potentially October for us and just to kind of get him a breather and get him back.” Other Notes: · The Dodgers will swap Alex Wood and Hyun-Jin Ryu in the rotation this week, with Ryu starting Thursday against the Mets and Wood starting Friday against Colorado. · Despite his one-run, five-inning start Sunday, Roberts said Kenta Maeda will go back to the bullpen for now. · Roberts said Adrián González received an epidural in his back, and the Dodgers are hoping the veteran first baseman is back sometime before the break. · The Dodgers have won nine of their last 10 games as they head into their series against the Mets, a team they’ve beaten in nine of their last 14 games at Dodger Stadium. · Clayton Kershaw starts the series against the Mets, entering the start having gone seven innings while allowing two runs or fewer in each of his previous three June starts. Kershaw is 7–0 with a 1.29 ERA in 11 career starts against the Mets. · Yasiel Puig and Logan Forsythe are just getting a day off Monday. Roberts said Forsythe will play the next three games of the series. · The Dodgers are hosting African American Heritage Night and will recognize Dodger legends Don Newcombe, Maury Wills and Frank Robinson during pregame ceremonies. In addition, Roberts and Corey Seager will be honored with the Legacy Award presented by the Negro Leagues Baseball Museum, which is given to the top players, managers, and executive in the Major Leagues that celebrate both on and off-the-field achievements.

Not many changes in fourth NL All-Star balloting update By Rowan Kavner Corey Seager still needs some All-Star assistance to earn a starting spot at shortstop. Seager, who dropped to second place behind Cincinnati’s Zack Cozart in National League All-Star votes at shortstop after the third balloting update, is still in second following the fourth update. Both shortstops are the only ones at their position in the NL with more than a million votes, but Seager (1,143,767 votes) is more than 300,000 votes behind Cozart (1,465,327) with one more update remaining next week. Fans can vote here throughout the voting period, which ends June 29 at 9 p.m. PT. Seager’s looking for his first starting assignment and second straight All-Star selection in his second full season. He leads all NL shortstops with 50 runs scored and 18 doubles and is hitting .281/.392/.462 this year. Justin Turner (747,659 votes), who’s hitting .385/.464/.521 this year, is still third in NL third basemen votes, behind Chicago’s Kris Bryant and Colorado’s Nolan Arenado. Yasmani Grandal is also still fifth in catcher voting. The balloting updates every Monday in the NL and every Tuesday in the AL. It’s the third straight year the All-Star ballot is being conducted exclusively online. Fans can cast their votes for starters a total of 35 times, including a maximum of five valid ballots cast in a 24-hour period.

NBC LA

Cody Bellinger Breaks Records as Dodgers Beat Mets, 10-6, in Slugfest By Michael Duarte It's Cody Bellinger's world, we're all just living in it. The new National League home run leader belted two on the night, breaking multiple MLB records in the process as the Los Angeles Dodgers beat the New York Mets, 10-6, in a slugfest at Chavez Ravine on Monday night. Bellinger homered in the first and second innings, respectively, giving him 21 on the year, the most in the National League, and the most in all of baseball since he was called up on April 25th. "Sick," said Bellinger when told he now led the NL in home runs. Bellinger blasted a three-run shot off Mets' starter Zack Wheeler to give the Dodgers a 4-0 lead in the bottom of the first inning.

One inning later, Bellinger sent a slider from Wheeler over the center field wall for his second home run in as many innings as the Dodgers raced out to an early 7-0 lead. "It was a 3-2 count, and I was just trying to protect," said Bellinger of his second home run. "I think he threw me inside and I was able to put the barrel to it." Bellinger became the fastest player in MLB history to hit 21 home runs, surpassing Wally Berger and Gary Sanchez who each hit 20 through the first 51 games of their careers. "It's crazy. If you told me a month and a half ago what I was going to do, I probably would have called you crazy," said Bellinger of the records he set. "I'm gonna come in tomorrow do my same routine and try and put together some good at-bats." Bellinger also tied Mike Piazza's franchise record with five multi-homer games in his rookie season and became the fastest in MLB history to have five multi-homer games. Bellinger still has 91 more games to break the record of seven set by Mark McGwire in 1987. Justin Turner homered in the second inning to extend his hitting streak to 14 games (longest active in MLB) as the third baseman finished the night going 4-for-4 with three singles, a walk, a home run, four RBI and two runs scored. Turner reached base safely in all of five plate appearances and now leads all of baseball in batting average with a .399 mark, but as of now, is ineligible for the MLB lead because of his DL stint last month (number of at-bats). On the flip side, Clayton Kershaw had one of the worst starts of his career, but thanks to the Herculean efforts by Bellinger, Turner and Chris Taylor, he still recorded his MLB-best, 10th win of the season. "It's obviously not the way I drew it up," Kershaw said of the victory. "But the way we've been playing of late, we probably had a good chance if I could hold them to six." Kershaw (10-2), joined Jason Vargas of the Kansas City Royals as the only 10 game winners in baseball, by allowing a career-high four home runs in the game. Jose Reyes hit two homers off the three-time Cy Young Award winner, Jay Bruce hit one and Gavin Cecchini added another as both teams hit four home runs in the game, the second time in a week at Dodger Stadium. "It's a good feeling to hit my first home run off an unbelievable pitcher like Kershaw," said Cecchini who hit his first career HR in his first career start. "He hung a curveball and I put my best swing on it." Kershaw has now surrendered 17 home runs on the season, the most he's ever allowed in his entire career, and we're still just 71 games into the season. "No theory," Kershaw said matter of factly when asked if he had a theory as to why he's allowed so many home runs this season as compared to previous years. "You hope mistakes are hit for singles, but it just so happens mine are going out of the ballpark."

On the bright side, Kershaw improved to a perfect 8-0 with a 1.84 ERA in 12 career starts against the Mets, passing the late Jose Fernandez and Edison Volquez as the only pitchers since 1913 with a record of 7-0 or better and sub-2.00 ERA against any opponent. Kershaw exited the game in the seventh inning, allowing six runs on six hits with one walk and 10 strikeouts in 6 and 1/3 innings. It was his 55th career game with 10+ strikeouts. "There's two ways to go: you can either try and rethink everything or say 'screw it' and come back tomorrow and act like it didn't happen," added Kershaw of his start. "I'm going to go with the latter. I guess that's why you play on a good team, we have a lot of guys swinging the bats well that picked me up today." Chris Taylor gave Kershaw and the Dodgers an extra insurance run in the bottom of the seventh with his ninth long ball of the season. A no doubt about it shot to left field to put LA up 9-6. The Dodgers recorded a season-high 17 hits in the game, two more than their previous total of 15 earlier in the season. Maybe it's global warming, or "juiced" baseballs, but the ball is definitely flying out of the ballpark this season. In the entirety of Dodger Stadium's 55-year history, two teams have combined to hit eight or more home runs only three times, and it has happened twice now in the last eight days. Los Angeles improves to a season-high 19 games over .500 (45-26), the second best mark through 71 games in the last 30 years of team history, and have won four consecutive games including 10-of-11 overall. Up Next: Robert Gsellman gets the start for the Mets on Tuesday opposite RHP Brandon McCarthy for the Boys in Blue. First pitch is scheduled for 7:10PM PST.

YAHOO SPORTS

Cody Bellinger sets major-league record with 21st career home run By Chris Cwik That’s one way to start a career. Though it’s only been 51 games, Los Angeles Dodgers rookie Cody Bellinger has already exceeded his lofty expectations. The most impressive part of his game thus far has been Bellinger’s exceptional power. Coming into Monday’s game against the New York Mets, the 21-year-old was sitting on 19 career home runs. With one more, he would tie a record, joining Gary Sanchez and Wally Berger as the fastest players to reach 20 career long balls. Sanchez and Berger accomplished the feat in their 51st game.

That wasn’t a problem. Bellinger tied the record in his first at-bat, belting an 88 mph slider from Zack Wheeler out to center for his 20th home run. He made it look easy. Turns out, Bellinger isn’t a big fan of sharing. An inning later, he decided he wanted to stand alone in the record books. That’s right, in his second at-bat, Bellinger smacked his 21st career home run. This time, he sent an 89 mph slider out to center. With the blast, Bellinger has now hit 21 home runs in just 51 career games. That’s a new record. On top of that, Bellinger now leads the National League in home runs. He passed Milwaukee Brewers slugger Eric Thames, who currently has 20 home runs, to take the lead. Ready for the best part, though? Bellinger didn’t start 2017 in the majors. He was called up by the Dodgers in late April. Every other major-leaguer had a 20-game head start on Bellinger. He still leads the NL in home runs. Due to his late start, Bellinger wasn’t listed on the All-Star ballot. You have to write him in on MLB’s website. He didn’t even show up on the latest balloting update. While Bellinger is certainly deserving of consideration, it’s OK if he doesn’t make it to the game. Last time we checked, you don’t have to be an All-Star to compete in the Home Run Derby. The All-Star Game is a great honor, but we selfishly want to see Bellinger inflict massive damage on batting practice fastballs during the Derby.

FOX SPORTS

Cody Bellinger’s two-HR night puts the Dodgers’ rookie in the record book By Chris Bahr Cody Bellinger continues to slug at a ridiculous pace that now is also record-setting. The Dodgers rookie went deep twice more in Monday’s 10-6 win over the Mets, giving him 21 homers on the season in just his 51st career game – a new MLB record. It was already Bellinger’s fifth multi-homer game of the season and it managed to overshadow the fact that Dodgers ace Clayton Kershaw served up four homers and six earned runs in 6.1 innings, though the left-hander still picked up his 10th win of the season. Bellinger’s four RBI upped his team-leading total to 47 – not bad for a guy who didn’t even debut until April 25. In his past nine games, the 21-year-old is slashing .375/.419/1.125 with nine homers and 16 RBI.

BLEACHER REPORT

Dodgers Rookie Cody Bellinger Already 1 of MLB's Most Lethal Sluggers By Zachary D. Rymer In a short-lived major league career that lasted from 1999 to 2002, Clay Bellinger played in 183 games, logged 344 plate appearances and hit a grand total of 12 home runs. His son, Cody, has played in 132 fewer games and logged 129 fewer plate appearances. Yet he already has his old man's career home run count beat by nine. And counting. The Los Angeles Dodgers' win over the New York Mets on Monday night was only Bellinger's 51st career game. He started his evening with a three-run shot in the first inning that tied the record for fastest ever to 20 homers. He then broke it with a solo shot in the second. Oh, and he also now leads the National League in home runs. This despite playing in 14 fewer games than the next guy (Eric Thames). If all this doesn't say enough about how much power Bellinger is packing, consider where he ranks among his peers in isolated power (extra bases per at-bat) for the season: Mike Trout: .405 ISO Cody Bellinger: .389 ISO Aaron Judge: .364 ISO Yup. Right there in between the best player in Major League Baseball today and the largest slugger in Major League Baseball history. "[He's] exceeded all of our expectations," Dodgers manager Dave Roberts said last week, per MLB.com's Jordan Bastian. "It's easy to say he's only going to get better, and he keeps getting better." The obligatory reality check here is that there isn't much room for the 21-year-old first baseman/outfielder to get better. In fact, there's probably none. And even if there were, the earth probably couldn't even contain hotness of that magnitude. If he only stays the same, though, Bellinger can make history. If he were to play in each of the 91 games the Dodgers have remaining, his current pace would take him all the way to 58 home runs. He can shatter the NL rookie home run record of 38 and even top the overall rookie record of 49 home runs. But, really, the Dodgers would probably be just dandy with any number over 30. Such sluggers have been rare in Chavez Ravine in recent years. The Dodgers haven't had a 30-homer hitter since Matt Kemp in 2011. And he's one of only two to top the mark for the club since 2005.

It's not that the Dodgers haven't had hitters with good power. Lower the bar to 20-homer hitters, and the list expands dramatically. Heck, they had four hitters—Cory Seager, Justin Turner, Yasmani Grandal and Joc Pederson—top that mark just last year. However, Dodger Stadium doesn't make things easy for Dodgers hitters to boost their power. It's middle of the road in terms of fair territory, and plays like a bigger ballpark. Part of that is a lack of natural advantages for either left- or right-handed hitters. Another part of that is the marine layer that rolls in from the Pacific Ocean. Even in a year in which balls are flying over fences at record rates, the ball still isn't traveling all that well at Dodger Stadium. Per Baseball Savant, the average distance of fly balls there ranks toward the lower end of the spectrum: With a natural disadvantage like this, it doesn't make much sense for the Dodgers to target sluggers for development. Hence, their current output of homegrown stars. Seager is a hitter first and a slugger second. Pederson is a great athlete. Ditto Yasiel Puig. Nobody should be too surprised to hear that Bellinger wasn't targeted for his slugging ability. When the Dodgers drafted him as a first baseman in the fourth round of the 2013 draft, the book on him said he could hit but maybe wasn't going to have the power typically associated with first base. The Dodgers didn't disagree. “We certainly liked him, but I didn’t think he would run into this kind of power," Logan White, formerly the Dodgers' vice president and now the San Diego Padres' pro scouting director, told Bob Nightengale of USA Today. "He was just a skinny dude, maybe 6'2", 175 pounds, but he had a beautiful swing." In hitting only four homers, Bellinger didn't force a rewrite of the book on him in his first two minor league seasons. After 2014, Baseball America scouted his power potential like so: Bellinger's swing is geared more for line drives than loft, and power is the biggest question mark. He's mostly a gap-to-gap guy right now, with some scouts projecting 10-15 home runs, which would be light for a first baseman. Then, everything changed in 2015. The story, as told by Andy McCullough of the Los Angeles Times, goes that Bellinger grew into his frame and adjusted his stance to allow for more torque when he swung. A fly-ball rate that had been hovering in the 30s jumped up to 48.6 percent, and he slugged .538 with 30 home runs. A .515 slugging percentage and 29 home runs followed in 2016. This is how Bellinger came to be counted as one of the best prospects in baseball coming into 2017. And according to Jim Callis of MLB.com, the one with the best power tool. Now, the wreckage he can do with his swing is on display for all to see.

Even at a time when home run swings are a dime a dozen, there's something undeniably compelling about the one Bellinger has. He uncoils like a trebuchet and lets loose with a hack that's long and loopy yet also quick. Ball hits bat. Ball goes far. Modern measurements don't leave any secrets as to why the ball goes far. Bellinger's average launch angle is18.6 degrees, much higher than the MLB norm of 10.9. He's also averaging 98.6 miles per hour in exit velocity on fly balls and line drives, placing him among the league leaders. This isn't just Bellinger's exceptional swing at work, mind you. He's also been patient by swinging at 44.6 percent of all pitches, and selective by swinging at only 28.1 percent of the pitches he sees outside the strike zone. And when the ball is in the zone, he knows precisely what he wants. "We've talked about swinging at strikes and taking balls and that's what he's doing," Roberts said, according to MLB.com's Ken Gurnick. "When he gets the ball into his nitro zone, good things happen." Bellinger likes the ball out over the plate, where he can get his arms extended. That's also where his slugging happens. Thus, his .774 slugging percentage against in-zone pitches. Of course, this is not to mischaracterize Bellinger as being only a slugger. With Adrian Gonzalez on the disabled list, now's his big chance to show off his Gold Glove-caliber defense at first base. Before, he was helping the Dodgers in left field, where he has more than enough athleticism to make the grade. Meanwhile, he's even one of the Dodgers' best baserunners. Bellinger's power, though, certainly deserves to be front and center in the spotlight. It's a rare treat for the Dodgers and an even rarer treat for fans of slugging rookies. And isn't that all of us?

USA TODAY

Diamondbacks, Rockies, Dodgers run roughshod over National League By Bob Nightengale It’s the Bermuda Triangle of baseball. The Colorado Rockies, Arizona Diamondbacks and Los Angeles Dodgers have put a death grip on the National League wild-card race. It’s all over, thanks to the supremacy of the NL West. Don’t believe me? Through Sunday, the Rockies (46-26), Dodgers (45-26) and Diamondbacks (44-26) had the three best records in the National League, and all happen to reside in the West.

This is the latest since 1962 that three NL teams, whether battling within the same division or for the pennant before divisional play began in 1969, had a winning percentage of .600 or better. And not since 1941 have three NL teams — the Brooklyn Dodgers, New York Giants and Cincinnati Reds —had a .600 winning percentage on this date. “That’s just amazing,’’ Andrew Friedman, Dodgers president of baseball operations, told USA TODAY Sports. “Scoreboard watching in May or June, it just speaks to the talent that we have in this division. It seems like we are matching each other in this recent stretch.’’ These three teams, who entered Monday separated by just one game in the standings, are all on pace to win 102 games. They are playing at such a break-neck speed that according to FanGraphs’ calculations, the Dodgers have a 99.8% chance to reach the postseason, with the Rockies at 88% and D-backs at 83.5%. While no team in the American League is further than 4 1/2 games out of a playoff berth, the Dodgers and D-backs have a nine-game lead over the Chicago Cubs in the NL wild-card race, and 12 games over everyone else. It could be the first time since Major League Baseball implemented the two-team wild-card format in 2012 that three teams from the same division could all reach the playoffs with a .600 winning percentage. The NL Central came the closest in 2015 when the St. Louis Cardinals, Pittsburgh Pirates and Chicago Cubs qualified for the playoffs, with the third-place Cubs finishing with 97 victories and a .599 winning percentage. It’s a staggering pace considering the 2015 Pirates are the lone National League wild-card team to produce a .600 winning percentage. It happened three times in the American League, but not since the Boston Red Sox in 2004 - 10 years after the advent of the wild-card format. This three-headed monster resurrects memories for Friedman, the former GM of the Tampa Bay Rays. They won the AL East twice, staving off the Boston Red Sox and New York Yankees when all three teams finished within eight victories of one another. “I was just thinking about that the other day,’’ Friedman said, “there are a lot of similarities.’’ There’s little to suggest this power trio’s pace can’t continue. They have outscored the opposition by a combined 262 runs, and are a staggering 75-37 outside their own division. The Washington Nationals, Milwaukee Brewers and Chicago Cubs are the only other NL teams with winning records. Oh, and the Rockies-Dodgers-D-backs triumvirate still have 61 games against their two divisional patsies, the San Diego Padres and San Francisco Giants. They’re already 37-19 against them and those clubs may delete talent by the trade deadline. The only drama left may be determining who wins the division and who hosts the wild card game. No wonder the Rockies’ three-game series Tuesday against the D-backs at Coors Field suddenly is looming large for a June matchup, with both teams off to franchise-record starts. It will be the beginning of 12 consecutive divisional games for the Rockies, including nine against the Dodgers and Arizona.

“These games should be good; we’re pushing each other in quiet ways,’’ Rockies GM Jeff Bridich says. “It’s a push to September. If you’re going to be the best, you’ve got to beat the best.’’ And the best in the NL West this decade has been the Dodgers and the Giants. The Giants, who are on pace to lose a franchise-record 103 games this year, won three World Series championships in five years while the Dodgers have won the last four division titles. The Dodgers certainly are playing as well as anyone in baseball, winning 29 of their last 41 games, but just not better than the Rockies or D-backs. The Dodgers were in third place, 2 1/2 games out of first on May 3, but have picked up only 1 1/2 games in the standings. The D-backs, who have won seven in a row, and 23 of their last 31, have picked up only two games in the standings since May 14. And the Rockies, who just completed their first four-game sweep of the Giants in franchise history, are 13-4 in June, have won 23 of their last 34 games since May 13, and increased their division lead by just one-half game. So is it rewarding to play this well, or exasperating, unable to shake off the two other NL West powers no matter how many games you win? “I think it’s a good thing staying hyper-competitive throughout a season,’’ Friedman says. “There’s a lot of depth in the division, so it helps you keep on edge, and it heightens the competitive dynamics. The D-backs and Rockies are playing extremely well, and the Giants are scary.” Friedman likely isn’t as surprised by his own team’s success as his counterparts to the east. “But first, you’ve got to get there. There’s a difference between talented and good,” says Bridich. “We’re similar to the Diamondbacks where both organizations are in similar stages. The talent was definitely there, but the question was whether the organization would take the next step in being good.’’ The Diamondbacks envisioned playing this well a year ago, only to go 69-93, and overhaul their front office and coaching staff. Now, they’re off to the finest start in franchise history, vying for their first playoff berth in six years. “I’m not too concerned what is happening elsewhere,’’ D-backs new GM Mike Hazen said, “but when you have teams play like this in the division, it creates a fun atmosphere. We just have to play our game, and control what we can control. If we keep doing that, it should make for an interesting rest of the way.’’ It will now be fascinating at the trade deadline to see how each of the front offices react, pulling the trigger on the trade that potentially separates them, or keep dancing with those that carried them this far. The Dodgers have the deepest farm system, and the financial resources with a $215 million payroll, but have mostly avoided trading prospects for veteran help in recent years. They would be willing to trade

for the likes of Chris Archer of Tampa Bay or Gerrit Cole of Pittsburgh, but won’t trade prospects unless they’re receiving controllable and not rent-a-pitchers in return. The D-backs went into the season wanting to restore their farm system and shed payroll. Yet, while they could recoup most of their money by trading ace Zack Greinke and the remaining $142 million in his contract before July 31, they certainly have no intention of moving him now while in the playoff hunt. They will stay pat, knowing that center fielder A.J. Pollock is returning within the week to bolster their lineup. Greinke, of course, can always be traded in the winter. The Rockies may be the most ambitious of the trio after already shelling out in excess of $90 million in the free-agent market. They want to seize the moment after six consecutive losing seasons. If anyone is willing to gamble and go for the jugular, it could be the Rockies, whose farm system is deep. Yet, with ace Jon Gray scheduled back this weekend, starter Tyler Anderson returning next week, and Chad Bettis expected by the All-Star break, they’ll have an influx of fresh arms. “It would obviously be a huge shot in the arm for us,’’ Bridich says, “in terms of depth and added talent to the roster. It’s no different than going out and trading for very impactful pitchers.’’ Ah, life inside baseball’s Bermuda Triangle, where you just never know what might happen next.