LOS ANGELES _ For all the great things Cody Bellinger has done for himself and for the Los Angeles Dodgers, his most valuable contribution this year might end up being what he has done for a teammate. Bellinger just might have saved Adrian Gonzalez's season.
When Bellinger hit the major leagues and kept on hitting, Gonzalez said he felt comfortable taking his battered body to the disabled list for a breather. If the Dodgers did not have a productive first baseman to replace him, Gonzalez said he probably would have continued to play through injury.
After some time off, Gonzalez is back on. He had his first three-hit game and his first three-RBI game this season, leading the Dodgers to a 6-3 victory over the Miami Marlins on Sunday.
Bellinger did not have a good day; he struck out four times. But Yasmani Grandal, like Gonzalez, doubled twice and singled once. Joc Pederson hit a home run, his first since opening day, and Brett Eibner delivered a pinch-hit single to drive home two runs.
Brandon McCarthy, who took a perfect game into the fifth inning, gave up one run and three hits over six innings to earn the victory. The Dodgers removed him after 75 pitches, a season low, so they could use left-handed reliever Luis Avilan against the Marlins' left-handed hitters in the seventh inning.
With two on and two out in the first inning, Gonzalez doubled home two runs, his first extra-base hit since April 25. Gonzalez also singled home a run in the fifth inning.
When Gonzalez agreed to go on the disabled list May 5, the Dodgers specified the malady as a sore elbow, although he said he also had played through forearm stiffness, a triceps strain and a herniated disk in his back. In his first eight at-bats since returning _ a timetable accelerated because of the season-ending injury to Andrew Toles _ Gonzalez had four strikeouts and one hit, a single.
"His timing is still a little bit off," Dodgers manager Dave Roberts said before the game. "Just his presence in the lineup means a lot for us. He'll get it going. He's got his strength back. The extension is there. ... He'll get it. He'll figure it out."
In his first at-bat, Gonzalez pulled a fastball, harder than he had hit any fastball this season.
Gonzalez is the Dodgers' "butter and egg man." He delivers. In each of his first four full seasons with the Dodgers, he has led the team in runs batted in.
He has 15 RBIs now, tied for seventh on the team. Bellinger is tied for first. He is the left fielder now.
The Dodgers' best lineup is the one in which Bellinger and Gonzalez each is healthy and productive. On Sunday, there was hope that the best might be yet to come.
