It was Opening Weekend in baseball, so the Los Angeles Dodgers had to do one thing: open up the floodgates of dingers. And on Saturday night against the Arizona Diamondbacks, it was Trayce Thompson who led the show. That also meant L.A.’s new LED lights show got a great workout.
The Dodgers mashed four home runs against the Diamondbacks. Three (3!) came off of Thompson’s bat, who, in turn, accumulated eight RBIs in a 10-1 win.
Talk about a one-man wrecking crew.
You could tell it was Thompson’s night from the jump when he destroyed a first-inning grand slam with an exit velocity of 107.5 miles per hour. This was not a man who would be denied on this weekend evening:
TRAYCE SLAM! pic.twitter.com/jLd8Zhh28k
— Los Angeles Dodgers (@Dodgers) April 2, 2023
Then, in the bottom of the fifth, with two guys already on, Thompson blasted a three-run ball into the stands again. And yes, it also had a 107.5 mile-per-hour exit velocity.
Two homer night? Thompson with a double-double! pic.twitter.com/YE9zsCsXOp
— Los Angeles Dodgers (@Dodgers) April 2, 2023
To close the night, with the Dodgers’ victory virtually assured, Thompson threw in a solo home run. The first three-homer game of the year belongs to one Mr. Thompson.
TRES THOMPSON! pic.twitter.com/kO6haaalam
— Los Angeles Dodgers (@Dodgers) April 2, 2023
Oh, sorry, I buried the lede on that one, didn’t I? Thompson’s third dinger also had a 107.5 mile-per-hour exit velocity, giving him an identical exit velocity on all three home runs. What a quirky but fun stat:
A REALLY FUN THING WITH TRAYCE THOMPSON'S 3 HR GAME
which means nothing, but is FUN, and we love fun:
all 3 had the SAME EXIT VELOCITY
107.5 mph
he's the 1st player with 3 HR at the exact same EV in a game tracked by Statcast (2015)
h/t the wizard @JasonBernard_ pic.twitter.com/NZkG2M0W0m
— Sarah Langs (@SlangsOnSports) April 2, 2023
What a magical (and kind of weird?) night for Thompson and the Dodgers.
