When Max Muncy went down with a scary leg injury at the beginning of July, it felt to many fans like he took the entire Los Angeles Dodgers offense with him.

An underrated hitter who always gives opposing pitchers tough at-bats, Muncy did a little bit of everything for the Dodgers in the middle of their order, and left a hole that his teammates simply couldn't overcome as they all shifted into more prominent roles.

While the Dodgers attempted to get better at the 2025 MLB trade deadline without shedding any major contracts along the way, with Brock Stewart heading to the bullpen and Alex Call joining an outfield platoon with Michael Conforto, Andy Pages, and Teoscar Hernandez, Muncy's return had to be the most highly anticipated return to Dave Roberts' lineup, as he's become somewhat of a calimg presence in the middle of the order.

And in only his second game back, Muncy made good on that anticipation, hitting a no-doubt home run in the first inning against the St. Louis Cardinals to bring the score to 2-0.

The home run, to right center field off a 95 mph heater down the middle, is significant not only because it padded LA's lead but also because it officially moved Muncy past Matt Kemp on the Dodgers' all-time home run leader board, securing him sole possession of spot No. 7 with 204 bombs in a blue and white uniform.

The only players in front of him? Well that would be Duke Snider, Gil Hodges, Eric Karros, Roy Campanella, Ron Cey, and Steve Garvey, also known as some of the very best players to ever do it in franchise history.

Originally drafted in the fifth round of the 2012 MLB Draft by the then-Oakland Athletics, Muncy technically played his first two professional seasons near California's capital before landing in Los Angeles in 2018, where he signed a minor league contract after being waived at the end of spring training. Muncy eventually saw playing time with the big club and never looked back, appearing in 968 games and counting for LA between the regular season and playoffs.

And if he can keep hitting dingers when his team needs him most, it's safe to assume he might be coming for Garvey next, as seven more home runs is nothing for the 34-year-old stalwart, especially since he hit 205 on his very next at-bat.

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