LOS ANGELES — When Max Muncy’s baby girl makes her debut Friday, her arrival will have been neatly choreographed to fall right between two of the Dodgers’ series against the Giants specifically so new dad Max Muncy won’t be missing the games at Oracle Park next week. Kellie Muncy made sure of that.
“My wife actually planned that one out. We’re gonna induce” Friday, Muncy told The Chronicle before Thursday’s finale at Dodger Stadium. “She didn’t want me to miss any games against the Giants.”
Muncy absolutely torches the Giants. Through Wednesday, the onetime A’s infielder was batting .324 with eight homers, 11 RBIs and a 1.457 OPS in nine games against them this year, and he’s tied the Los Angeles record for homers against San Francisco in a season, matching Tommy Davis (1962) and Ron Cey (1978). With seven games remaining against the Giants (including Thursday’s), he has a chance to match or top the best marks in franchise history: Dolph Camilli hit 11 in 1941 and Roy Campanella 10 in 1953.
The all-time mark against the Giants is 12 by the Cardinals’ Stan Musial in 1954.
Thursday night’s game at Dodger Stadium ended too late for this edition. For coverage, go to SFChronicle.com/sports.
Muncy also had a notable moment against the Giants in 2019, smacking a ball into McCovey Cove against Madison Bumgarner. When Bumgarner snapped at him for admiring the drive, he responded, “If you don’t want me to watch the ball, you can go in the ocean and get it.”
“I don’t know where that came from,” Muncy said Thursday. “It just kind of happened.”
There’s nothing wrong with stoking a rivalry a bit: The Dodgers gave away a Max Muncy “Go get it out of the ocean” bobblehead this year.
Muncy relishes the rivalry, but he has zero animosity toward Giants fans, who he said have responded to him respectfully even if they give him a hard time, much the way Dodgers fans needle Buster Posey.
“Oh, they boo me, but that’s to be expected — it’s Giants-Dodgers, you know? I’ve never had anything hostile from Giants fans,” Muncy said. “I feel like Giants fans are good. There are some places we go where they threaten to kill your family. Nothing like that’s ever happened against the Giants. The two fan bases are passionate, but they never stoop to levels like that.”
What is Muncy’s explanation for his numbers against the Giants, especially this year?
“I don’t know why I do so well against them, but obviously I’m happy that I do,” he said. “It makes me happy because it means I’m putting the team in a good position to win, and that’s really all I care about — and it makes it even better that it’s the Giants, not only because of the rivalry but because they are the best team in baseball right now. That makes it even sweeter, and I take a lot of pride in it, but it’s one of those things I can’t explain.”
It’s not as if Muncy thrives only against the Giants, of course. He’s an All-Star, his .405 average with runners in scoring position is the second-best mark in the league, and his .415 OBP is second in the NL.
“He’s so good,” Giants manager Gabe Kapler said this week. “So good.”
Susan Slusser covers the Giants for The San Francisco Chronicle. Email: [email protected] Twitter: @susanslusser
