When word spread on Friday afternoon that Dodgers veteran first baseman Adrian Gonzalez was headed to the disabled list for the first time in his 14-year MLB career for a mild disk herniation in his back – a condition that has been plaguing the soon-to-be 35-year old (on Monday) San Diego, California native for quite some time – it was met with mixed emotions. Dodger fans were saddened that they were losing a guy who had, on many occasions, single-handedly pulled the Dodgers from the ashes and led them to victory. But they were equally excited that the veteran first baseman and likely future Hall of Famer was being replaced by Dodgers number one-ranked first base prospect Cody Bellinger.

On the season, Gonzalez was hitting a rather pedestrian .255 / .327 / .309 for an OPS of .635 with zero home runs; this from a guy who has averaged 27 home runs and 102 RBIs over his brilliant career. On the other hand, Bellinger – who had exactly nine games of major league experience since his April 25 call-up – was hitting .303 / .361 / .576 for an OPS of .937 with two home runs, a double and a triple prior to the Dodgers weekend series opener against the San Diego Padres at Petco Park.

Those mixed emotions lasted all of four innings when Bellinger launched a mammoth 432-foot solo home run into the third deck in right field of Petco Park to give the Dodgers a 1-0 lead over the friars.

“I just got in a good count – it was 2-0 – and like you said, in the fourth inning [Padres right-hander Jhoulys Chacín] was trusting his stuff,” Bellinger told SportsNet LA’s Alanna Rizzo about his first home run. “I had a good feeling that a heater was coming and he left it up and I sort of put the barrel to it.”

Yes, his first home run.

In the top of the ninth inning with the game precariously close at 5-2 and Dodgers closer Kenley Jansen beginning to loosen up in the bullpen, the 21-year-old Scottsdale, Arizona native and son of former three-time World Series champion Clay Bellinger “put the barrel to it” again when he launched a 411-foot three run home run to straightaway center field to give the Dodgers a commanding 8-2 lead and obliterating any hopes that the Padres had of getting back into the game.

“[Padres left-hander Miguel Diaz] throws hard, I thought he’d try to sneak a fastball by me,” said Bellinger. “I loaded early and tried to put a good swing on it and I guess it got out of here.”

Bellinger’s ninth-inning / three-run home run – his second of the night – absolutely destroyed any hopes that the Padres had of mounting a comeback.
(Video capture courtesy of SportsNet LA – Click on image to view video)

To be fair, Bellinger has quite a bit of help from his teammates in the eventual 8-2 win – on both sides of the ball. Dodgers fan-favorite Andrew Toles slugged a two-run double into the right field gap in the top of the seventh inning after pinch-hitters Chris Taylor and Franklin Gutierrez led off the inning with back-to-back singles to turn a 2-1 deficit into a 3-2 Dodgers lead, a lead that they would not relinquish.

But the Padres had their chances, especially in the bottom of the sixth inning when Dodger reliever (and new fan-favorite) Sergio Romo pitched his way out of a bases loaded / one-out jam by striking out Padres right fielder Hunter Renfroe and getting shortstop Erick Aybar to line out to Dodgers third baseman Justin Turner, who made a spectacular diving catch to rob Aybar of what would probably have been a bases-clearing double. Romo would go on to pick up the win, his first as a Dodger.

Dodgers starter Kenta Maeda also did an outstanding job, allowing only two runs (one earned) on three hits while walking three and striking out eight in his five innings of work. In fact, at one point, Maeda struck out six Padres batters in a row. But the recently-turned 29-year-old Senboku-gun, Japan native also struggled, forcing Dodgers manager Dave Roberts to pull him a little earlier than he wanted to.

“I just thought that he wasn’t being as aggressive as I think he could’ve been,” said Roberts. “He had a lot of punches … There was a stretch where he struck out [six] in a row. For me, I was going to give him the opportunity to go farther into the game, but when I saw four straight balls to Myers, it was time to go get [Dodgers left-hander Luis] Avilan.”

But Friday night belonged to Cody Bellinger plain and simple. He finished the night going 3-for-5 with two runs scored and four RBIs. He also became the first Dodger player to have two two-home-run games in the first 10 games of his career dating back to 1913, when the so-called “modern era” began.

Although it is hoped that Gonzalez’s time on the DL will be short, by every indication thus far, the Dodgers first base torch has officially been passed.

…just as it’s supposed to be.