Yasiel Puig homered again on Friday night. It's become a habit for the Los Angeles Dodgers outfielder, so much so that he is setting new career marks for himself. His 20th of the 2017 season came against one of the better pitchers in the National League, New York Mets ace Jacob DeGrom. It also came on a night where Puig was not the center of attention, as he sometimes can be, depending on his antics on any given day.
Puig goes yard
Puig came to the plate for the first time in the top of the second inning, with one out against the Dodgers. DeGrom had already shown some cracks, giving up a leadoff home run to Chris Taylor at the top of the first inning.
That at-bat was a gladiator battle, with Taylor needing nine pitches to send the ball over the wall. Puig wasn't going to take that long - he watched one strike blow past him, then sent the next ball into Citi Field's orbit.
Yasiel Puig launches his career-high 20th home run of the season pic.twitter.com/kmbhjwGjNJ
— Sports Illustrated (@SInow) August 5, 2017
The home run for Puig turned a one-run lead into a two-run lead for the Dodgers. That may have seemed insignificant in the second inning, but after giving up two home runs, DeGrom was clearly rattled. In the top of the fifth inning, another run scored. By the time the sixth inning rolled around, a high pitch count had already relegated DeGrom to the dugout.
New York provided him with no run support, going up against Yu Darvish in his Dodgers debut. Los Angeles eventually took the game, 6-0.
Puig makes personal history
The right fielder's 20th home run marked a new high for him in a single season, which is remarkable considering there are still almost two months of baseball left to be played.
He hit 19 home runs during his rookie season with the Dodgers, when he played in only 104 games. This time around, he exceeded the home run mark despite playing in one less game so far this season. For good measure, Puig also ranks in the top ten in stolen bases in the National League this year.
There was a time - recently, in fact - where it didn't seem like Puig would ever reach such a high-water mark in his career.
Maturity was the big concern, something that still dogs the Cuban from time to time (like when he flipped off fans earlier in the year). Last season, he was optioned to Triple-A, his future with the Dodgers officially in doubt. He worked his way back to the club, though, and has become an integral part of the team this season. It's safe to say the Dodgers will need Puig to continue to rake for the club to break its longstanding World Series drought.
