Los Angeles Dodgers finish August with NL record 57 home runs
ARLINGTON, Texas -- Cody Bellinger and the Los Angeles Dodgers set the National League record for home runs in a month. Now they'll keep pushing for the most series victories to start a season in the majors since 1969.
Bellinger's two-run homer gave the Dodgers 57 long balls in August after solo shots from Corey Seager and Will Smith, and Los Angeles beat the Texas Rangers 7-2 on Sunday.
The 10th home run of the season for Bellinger topped Atlanta's previous mark of 56 home runs in June 2019. The record came in the third inning of L.A.'s final game of August. The club is off Monday.
Manager Dave Roberts didn't seem interested in an asterisk for the record because the NL is using the designated hitter for the first time in the pandemic-shortened season.
"It's still a record,'' Roberts said. "It's just a byproduct of swinging at good pitches. I don't know how well the ball is carrying compared to the last couple of years, but it's amazing to see the talent that we have in our lineup.''
The Dodgers, who have the best record in the majors at 26-10, bounced back from a series-opening loss to the fading Rangers with consecutive victories. They have not lost any of their 12 series to start the season -- tied for the fifth-best season-opening run since 1969. The 1990 Cincinnati Reds have the record after not losing any of their first 17 series that season.
L.A. is among three teams next at 14, a mark the Dodgers reached in 1977 to match the 1970 Minnesota Twins. Baltimore made it a trio in 1997. "Regardless of if you lose the first game of a series, we're trying to win every game and there's no panic in the clubhouse,'' Roberts said. "So the goal is to keep winning series, and do that indefinitely.''
L.A. starter Tony Gonsolin surrendered his first run after beginning the season with 16 scoreless innings, but the right-hander still doesn't have a win to show for his 0.51 ERA. Gonsolin came out after three innings, the third time in four starts he was pulled without going five.
Leody Taveras scored on a wild pitch to end the scoreless streak with none out in the third. Gonsolin reloaded the bases with his third walk before getting three consecutive outs, capping his outing with his fifth strikeout on the 11th pitch to Todd Frazier.
"I probably felt the best out of the whole outing in that one at-bat,'' Gonsolin said. "Just kind of battling up there, and kind of the adrenaline and the compete kind of took over.''
Seager's ninth homer went into the Texas bullpen in right-center in the first, while Smith's fourth was a 439-foot shot into the second deck in left field off Kyle Gibson (1-4) in the second. The Texas right-hander gave up five runs in five innings with eight strikeouts.
"It has been a little frustrating because I just looked, my last three starts I have given up six homers, I've gotten 19 ground balls, six fly ball outs and six homers,'' Gibson said. "Half of your fly balls are not supposed to leave the yard.''
Seager and Mookie Betts had two hits and two RBIs each, while Smith scored three runs.
Information from The Associated Press was used in this report.
