August 24th, 2022 at 8:00 am 
by Ron Cervenka After being shut out by the Milwaukee Brewers 4-0 at Dodger Stadium on Monday night, it took all of seven pitches for the Dodgers to score their first run against them on Tuesday night.
After a leadoff double by six-time All-Star right fielder Mookie Betts on the first pitch of the bottom of the first inning, two-time All-Star shortstop Trea Turner followed with an RBI single on the fifth pitch of the inning.
But that (very) quick 1-0 lead wouldn’t last long.
With two outs in the bottom of the second inning, 31-year-old Dodgers left fielder Trayce Thompson, who has a propensity for coming up clutch in huge situations, did so yet again when he absolutely crushed a 96.1-MPH cut fastball off of Brewers two-time All-Star right-hander Corbin Burnes for a mammoth 423-foot / three-run home run that landed halfway up the Left Field Pavilion at Dodger Stadium.
It was, in the words of American-flag-saving former Dodgers outfielder and longtime Dodgers broadcaster Rick Monday, “…the loudest home run we have heard all season,” and led to the Dodgers 10-1 rout of the Brewers for their 85th win of the season to lower their ‘Magic Number’ to clench the National League West to 21.
(Image courtesy of SportsNet LA)
“[Burnes] kind of gave me everything, a little sinker early, and then a curveball, he threw four or five consecutive cutters or three consecutive cutters,” Thompson told SportsNet LA’s Kirsten Watson postgame. “You know, he’s one of the best in the league. I’ve never faced him before, so I just had to kind of calibrate after that first couple, really. He just left a pitch kind of really just middle-middle, and just fortunate enough to put a good swing on it,” added Thompson.
“He and the hitting guys have really connected,” Dodgers manager Dave Roberts said of Thompson’s hot bat of late. “I think he has no fear of the baseball. I think he’s staying on spin a lot better than I recall.
“Right now, mechanically, he just looks so comfortable and so confident at the plate,” the Dodgers skipper added.
Confident indeed. In the 45 games in which the Los Angeles, CA native and second-round draft pick in 2009 by the Chicago White Sox out of Santa Margarita Catholic High School in Rancho Santa Margarita, CA (who grew up a Dodgers fan) has appeared in, Thompson is now 34-for-118 (.288), with 10 doubles, one triple, six home runs, and 25 RBI.
On the night, the Dodgers had a combined 12 hits, including Betts’ first-inning double, Thompson’s second-inning blast, and another RBI double by Dodgers first baseman Freddie Freeman in the bottom of the eighth.
On the other side of the ball, Betts made yet another spectacular defensive play with his two-out / run-saving leaping catch of a would-be RBI double off the bat of Brewers third baseman Luis Urías in the top of the second inning.
(Image courtesy of SportsNet LA)
Play Ball!
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Thompson’s maturation for the Dodgers brings back memories of “Sweet” Lou Johnson in 1965. Different style of players (Lou no where close to Thompson’s athleticism) but brought a fire to their respective teams that produced terrific results. Johnson had a terrific World Series performance against the Twins as the Dodgers were World Series champs — hopefully Thompson’s season will end the same way.
Trayce needs to get more starts. He should start more against right handers more as he is hitting them better than lefties. KT3 is a mess and should not start ahead of Trayce.
Trayce is extremely humble about that and is very respectful of Roberts and of his teammates with whom he shares playing time. He is a class act in every sense of the word.
Class act indeed.
Ron, when Thompson was acquired, I sent you a text and quipped that the acquisition had . . . “potential for a good movie script. Nice get.”
It was obviously tongue-in-cheek, but I’m thinking this movie is writing itself as we go. Another home run tonight; a three-run shot. Wow! Can’t wait for the Hollywood ending in early November!