LOS ANGELES — It’s turning into more durable and more durable to consider Christian Walker when he says his energy overload at Dodger Stadium is simply a type of bizarre baseball feats.
Particularly when the very subsequent time he swings his bat, the ball soars 435 toes. After which he hits one other ball over the fence two innings later.
Walker homered at Chavez Ravine within the first inning of Thursday’s 9-3 win over the Dodgers, his fourth of the three-game sequence. The ball jumped 109.6 mph off his bat, a straight laser that landed midway up the bleachers.
He got here up once more within the third and crushed a house run to left discipline. It took two plate appearances for him to earn his second straight multi-homer efficiency with dingers in three straight at-bats.
Christian Walker has 6 house runs in 6 video games at Dodger Stadium this season 😳 pic.twitter.com/nJAEORcFSY
— MLB (@MLB) July 5, 2024
oops, HE DID IT AGAIN
Christian Walker with ANOTHER homer at Dodger Stadium! pic.twitter.com/rZwiVMcPGL
— MLB (@MLB) July 5, 2024
“I’ve seen him get scorching like this earlier than, however nothing fairly like this,” supervisor Torey Lovullo stated. “He’s received a pure baseball swing, and he’s not lacking the pitch he’s on the lookout for. I do know he clearly enjoys hitting on this setting, and he carried us. There’s most likely no greater fan of Christian Walker than me, as a result of I do know what he’s executed to get up to now.”
The Dodgers deliberately walked him with first base open the subsequent time he grabbed a bat.
The veteran’s house run depend towards the Dodgers in 2024 jumped to 9 in 9 video games, seven in six video games at Dodger Stadium.
Higher but, Walker has hit a house run in 5 straight video games in Los Angeles, placing him in uncommon firm traditionally:
Christian Walker has homered in every of his final 5 video games AT the Dodgers
that’s tied for the longest single-season HR streak in video games on the Dodgers, with:
1959 Willie Mays
1956 Willie Mays
1956 Joe Adcock
1955 Del Ennis https://t.co/jF9ksN58Vw— Sarah Langs (@SlangsOnSports) July 5, 2024
Christian Walker is the primary participant with 7 HR in a 5-game span AT the Dodgers https://t.co/YAExkC8cH7
— Sarah Langs (@SlangsOnSports) July 5, 2024
Dodger Stadium opened in 1962, so he’s the one customer of their present ballpark with an influence streak like this.
His profession house run whole at Dodger Stadium elevated to 19 in solely 42 video games (45%).
“I’ve much less for you than I did final evening,” Walker joked on why he brings this degree of energy to L.A. “Only a loopy factor. Speechless.”
“I do know sufficient about this sport that you simply attempt to reduce the curler coaster, take the great, admire the great, however this sport is tough each day, so simply making an attempt to be lifelike about expectations and making an attempt to take care of the method after which hopefully good issues maintain occurring,” Walker stated of taking it in stride.
Walker first homer adopted a Joc Pederson solo shot off Dodgers starter Landon Knack, the ninth occasion Diamondbacks hitters have hit back-to-back house runs this yr. It gave Arizona a 2-0 lead.
Knack walked Pederson with two outs within the third, and Walker punished him for it to go up 4-0.
“It’s unimaginable to see somebody in particular person occurring a run like that,” Pederson stated. “It doesn’t occur usually. He received us this sequence.”
Paul Goldschmidt, Jean Segura, Reggie Sanders and Tony Clark are the one Diamondbacks gamers to have hit a number of house runs in back-to-back video games.
Walker’s newest blast was his twenty second of the season, effectively forward of his tempo final yr (17 by July 4). He leads all Diamondbacks hitters with Ketel Marte second with 17.
He walked once more within the ninth inning on 4 pitches, so he completed the sport 2-for-3. He got here round to attain on a Gabriel Moreno double that blew the sport open.
Moreno had three hits on Thursday and drove in two runs. Lourdes Gurriel Jr. had a pair of RBIs, and the bullpen went six scoreless innings after starter Zac Gallen lasted 4 frames. Justin Martinez was notably impactful with three shutout innings.
Arizona claimed two of three contests towards Los Angeles after dropping the opener in walk-off style on Tuesday. The D-backs will face the Padres subsequent beginning Friday.
“Momentum is what we’re after proper now,” Walker stated. “We talked about it yesterday, bringing the identical vitality into San Diego, one other good sequence developing, problem forward of us. You construct on it, you are taking it in stride, however positively don’t take it with no consideration.”
For the sequence, Walker completed 6-for-13 with 10 RBIs. He additionally has a number of hits in 5 straight video games.
The Diamondbacks are executed at Dodger Stadium for the 2024 common season. If sufficient goes proper, maybe they discover themselves returning.