LOS ANGELES — Tread lightly and carry a big stick.
That was the mantra for Dodgers third baseman Max Muncy entering this season and, thus far, he’s following it word for word.
Muncy cranked three home runs on Friday night in the opener of a three-game series against the Texas Rangers, including a walk-off solo blast in the ninth inning of the thrilling 8-7 victory at Dodger Stadium.
The hat trick gave Muncy 213 round trippers with the Dodgers, moving him past Steve Garvey for third-most in the franchise’s L.A. era.
Muncy’s historic night came seven weeks after he reported to spring training weighing about 17 pounds lighter than he did when the Dodgers won their second straight World Series on Nov. 1.
More than anything, the weight loss appears to have improved his defensive mobility at third base and allowed him to run freely on the bases, something he also did well on Friday night when he scored five runs.
“Most importantly, I feel like my feet are moving on every ground ball,” Muncy said. “That’s something I’ve always struggled with in the past. I just get stuck a little bit, and that puts me in bad positions on certain hops, but I feel like everything is moving fluidly and I just feel healthy.”
Muncy, who will turn 36 in August, said he had to come to grips with this stage of his 11-year MLB career. He realized he probably couldn’t add much more strength during the offseason, but he could fix some other things.
Muncy said he mostly focused on his diet. The biggest challenge was abstaining from bread.
“For me, it was just kind of a shift in the plan to go more towards mobility,” Muncy said. “More towards running, more towards any type of range stuff, and less focus on strength.”
Muncy came into Saturday with 29 chances at third base without an error. He tied for the team-high with 11 errors on 223 chances last season.
Muncy also made some mechanical changes to his swing that give him a better chance against left-handed pitchers. The left-handed hitting Muncy came into Saturday 5 for 11 off lefties this season with two home runs, including the walk-off game winner on an 0-2 pitch by Jacob Latz on Friday.
“It really didn’t hurt that I think had more at-bats off lefties than righties in spring training,” Muncy said. “It seemed like every day we were facing a lefty, whether that was coincidence or teams just trying to do that because of the lefties in our lineup. I don’t know, but I had a lot of practice and was able to carry it over to the season.”
A few days before Muncy reported to spring training, the Dodgers rewarded him with a contract extension that could keep him with the team through the 2028 season.
The contract guarantees $10 million – a $7 million salary in 2027, with a $3 million buyout if the Dodgers do not exercise a $10 million club option for 2028. Muncy will earn $10 million in 2026 after the Dodgers exercised a club option for 2026 in his previous contract.
“He knows that we believe in him and we’ve shown that many times over, and so I think there’s some peace with that,” Dodgers manager Dave Roberts said. “That’s kind of the thought behind what (president of baseball operations) Andrew (Friedman) and (general manager Brandon Gomes) did, to free his mind up, and just let him play baseball.”
SNELL SIGHTING
Dodgers left-hander Blake Snell faced live hitters for the first time on Saturday afternoon.
Snell, who has not pitched yet this season because of fatigue in his throwing shoulder, threw approximately 15 pitches to teammates Alex Call and Tommy Edman.
“It’s very big, especially (against) big league hitters,” said the two-time Cy Young Award winner. “To get feedback from them is very important.”
Snell was most curious about what Call and Edman saw on his release.
“If I was selling fastball, or if they could see anything from my release, give them some form of a tip,” Snell said. “That’s all I really care about. I want everything to look like a fastball. To be able to get that feedback and not have to guess is pretty awesome.”
The next step will likely be getting through two innings of live batting practice and ultimately up to three or four innings before he goes on a minor-league rehab assignment.
“This one for me, personally, is just an exercise,” Dodgers manager Dave Roberts said of Snell’s workout on Saturday. “I’m not really looking for velocity, I’m not really looking for command, to be quite honest, just getting out there, competing against hitters and just trying to get through the 20-pitch exercise.”
Snell went 5-4 with a 2.54 ERA in 11 starts in 2025, his first season with the Dodgers. After two starts, he was placed on the injured list for shoulder inflammation and did not rejoin the Dodgers until August 2.
“I’m just very excited about how I feel right now, getting back to some normalcy again,” Snell said. “It feels really good.
Edman took his first live batting practice since undergoing ankle surgery in November. Roberts estimates he could be back by the end of May.
PAGES PERFORMANCE
Somewhat lost in the Muncy performance on Friday night was another productive game from center fielder Andy Pages, who delivered a two-run double, a two-run homer and reached base all four times.
Pages came into Saturday leading the MLB in batting average (.449), hits (22) and tied for first in RBIs (16).
Roberts said there were some detractors early in Pages’ career who didn’t think he hit the weight room hard enough, didn’t have the range to play center field in the majors, and couldn’t hit hard throwers.
“He’s grown tremendously,” Roberts said. “He’s adapted, evolved, adjusted in all fronts. He’s going to be talked about a lot this year.”
UP NEXT
Rangers (RHP Jacob deGrom, 0-0, 3.72 ERA) at Dodgers (RHP Roki Sasaki, 0-1, 7.00 ERA), Sunday, 1:10 p.m., SportsNet LA, 570 AM