Los Angeles Dodgers third baseman Max Muncy left Saturday night’s game against the Chicago Cubs early due to an illness.
Infielder Santiago Espinal came in for Muncy, giving him some playing time that the former Cincinnati Red has rarely had.
Muncy has been the Dodgers best hitter over the last week, giving them a constant on-base presence. In fact, he reached all three times that he went up to the plate safely on Saturday before leaving.
The third baseman hit a two-run home run that tied the game at 2-2 and walked two other times. He boosted his batting average up to .300, and his OPS is 1.027.
Manager Dave Roberts revealed Muncy’s departure before the game, as the skipper mentioned that the third baseman was under the weather.
In fact, Roberts put Muncy up so high in the lineup with the hopes that he would take a handful of quick at-bats and then exit the game.
Santiago Espinal is pinch running for Max Muncy, who reached base in all three plate appearances today. Dave Roberts mentioned earlier that Muncy has been under the weather.
Muncy has looked like a different player in 2026, totally refreshed, healthy, and moving better than he ever has. His defense is still good, he is slugging, and continues to see pitches better than most players.
He is not surprised that the results are coming. Muncy has noted that he feels healthy for the first time in a long time.
“I just feel healthy, that’s kind of the most important thing right now,” Muncy said. “I feel like I’m moving really well, I feel like I’m getting good reads on the ball.
“Most important, my feet are moving on every ground ball and that’s something I’ve always struggled with in the past. I just get stuck a little bit and that puts me in bad position on certain hops.”
Entering Saturday’s game, the 35-year-old has put up 1.3 fWAR, good enough to be tied at first on the team with Tyler Glasnow.
Ohtani, when adding his pitching and hitting figures, has 1.4 fWAR.
Still, Muncy’s hitting impact is easily the best on the team, and he is aging just as well as Freddie Freeman, another infielder who is in his mid-30s as well.