AP Photo/Marcio Jose Sanchez
The Los Angeles Dodgers pushed their National League Division Series with the San Francisco Giants to the limit after beating their archrivals 7-2 on Tuesday.
Right fielder Mookie Betts delivered the big blast with a two-run home run to give the Dodgers a 4-0 lead in the fourth inning.
Second baseman Trea Turner’s RBI double and Chris Taylor’s sacrifice fly put the Dodgers up 2-0 before then. Thanks to those early efforts, Giants starting pitcher Anthony DeSclafini was pulled after 1.2 innings and 28 pitches.
As for the Dodgers, right-handed starter Walker Buehler and the Dodger bullpen were largely excellent.
Pitching on three days rest, Buehler dazzled with 4.1 innings of shutout ball, striking out four.
He was pulled after getting into a fifth-inning jam that saw the Giants put runners on first and second with one out, but relief pitcher Joe Kelly limited the damage to one run before wiggling out of the potential rally.
Betts later added a fifth-inning sacrifice fly. The Giants got one back in the eighth after a Kris Bryant RBI groundout, but Dodgers catcher Will Smith delivered the final blow with a two-run homer in the bottom half of the frame.
L.A. relievers ultimately combined for 4.2 innings of one-run ball, allowing four hits and punching out two.
The two powerhouses had split a pair of games in San Francisco before the Giants edged the Dodgers 1-0 in L.A. on Monday to take a 2-1 series lead.
That set up a must-win game for the Dodgers at home, and they got the job done.
Notable Performances
Dodgers RHP Walker Buehler: 4.1 IP, 3 H, 2 BB, 0 ER, 4 K
Dodgers RF Mookie Betts: 2-for-4, HR, 3 RBI
Dodgers CF Gavin Lux: 2-for-2, 2 BB
Dodgers C Will Smith: 2-for-4, HR, 2 RBI
Giants RHP Anthony DeSclafini: 1.2 IP, 5 H, 2 ER, 2 K
Giants RF/LF Kris Bryant: 2-for-3, RBI
Dodgers Offense Springs Back to Life
The Dodgers have sported a Jekyll-and-Hyde offense during the NLDS.
San Francisco shut out L.A. in Game 1 and 3. The Dodgers had just five hits in each game, only two of which were for extra bases. They also struck out 17 times.
In between, L.A.’s offense popped off in a 9-2 victory that saw the Dodgers get 11 hits, which included four doubles and a Smith home run.
On Tuesday, the Dodgers offense showed signs of life again.
It all started with Turner, who smacked a double into the right-center gap to score Corey Seager:
Turner’s been sensational for L.A. ever since the Washington Nationals dealt him to the West Coast amid their fire sale. All he did in the regular season was hit .338 (.950 slugging percentage) with 10 home runs, 28 RBI and 11 stolen bases in 52 games.
The playoffs have been quieter for Turner (3-for-7 from Games 1-3), but he set the tone Tuesday.
L.A. played small ball in the second with Cody Bellinger and Gavin Lux singles preceding Taylor’s sacrifice fly, but it was all about the long ball in the fourth.
Once again, a Dodger batter launched a pitch on the outside part of the plate the other way for a timely hit. This time, it was Betts scoring Buehler, who got on after an error by pitcher Jarlin Garcia, for the 4-0 edge.
It’s been a down year for Betts, although an off-year for him is a great season for most ballplayers. He still hit .264 (.854 OPS) with 23 home runs and 58 RBI in an injury-shortened campaign that saw him miss 40 contests.
But Betts delivered what has been the biggest hit of this series for the Dodgers so far.
Betts added a fifth-inning sacrifice fly to score Cody Bellinger, the 2019 NL MVP who struggled mightily en route to a .165 batting average. However, L.A. saw Bellinger closer to his MVP form, as he finished with two hits and a run. He has a .400 OBP during this series.
The Dodgers also got big contributions from Gavin Lux, who reached base all four times at bat. Smith also got involved with his eighth-inning blast that effectively extinguished any realistic hope of a Giants comeback.
Overall, the Dodger offense sprung to life at the right time, with the time sprinkling 12 hits and keeping the Giants on their heels. That led to a relatively comfortable win, forcing a do-or-die Game 5.
Miss Opportunities Doom Giants Offense Yet To Break Out
It felt like the Giants were running uphill all game trying to catch a Dodgers team that managed to stay a step or more ahead Tuesday evening.
Still, the Giants had multiple opportunities to go punch-for-punch with the Dodgers, who were on the ropes during a few innings.
It wasn’t meant to be, however, as the Giants offense couldn’t take advantage of their chances. Coupled with a rough night for the Giants pitching staff, and that was a recipe for the five-run loss.
In the second inning, the Giants put runners on first and second courtesy of Kris Bryant and LaMonte Wade singles. That brought up Evan Longoria, who entered the evening with a .357 lifetime batting average (5-for-14) against Buehler.
Four of those nine outs were strikeouts, though, and that’s what Longoria did after a swing-and-miss on a nasty slider off the plate.
Buehler fell behind 2-0 to Mike Yastrzemski, but he fought back to induce a soft lineout to Turner and end the inning.
The Giants then mounted a rally in the fifth down 4-0, putting runners on first and second with one out after a Longoria single and a Steven Duggar walk. That led to Buehler giving way to hard-throwing reliever Joe Kelly, who then allowed a Tommy La Stella single to load the bases.
The tying run arrived to the plate in the form of Darin Ruf, but Kelly forced a groundout that scored one.
Up came Brandon Crawford, but down went the Giants after Kelly forced another groundout that ended the inning.
Crawford did get things going in the eighth with a leadoff double, but three straight outs soon followed.
The offense hasn’t given the pitching staff much insurance this series, with the team scoring just nine runs in four games.
It’s not going to get any easier with 20-game winner Julio Urias scheduled to take the ball for the Dodgers in Game 5.
However, this Giants offense scored 804 runs and helped guide this team to its best regular season in franchise history.
A breakout could be on the way Thursday, but another off-night at the dish could leave the team in another precarious spot barring a masterful performance from Giants starter Logan Webb.
What’s Next?
San Francisco will host L.A. for Game 5 on Thursday at 9:07 p.m. ET in Oracle Park for what promises to be an epic matchup between the two best teams in baseball.
The 107-55 Giants edged the 106-56 Dodgers by one game for the NL West crown and homefield advantage through the MLB playoffs. The 100-62 Tampa Bay Rays were the only other team to win 100 or more games.
Now they’ll play one game to decide who advances to the NL Championship Series.
Urias (20-3, 2.96 ERA, 195 K) will take the mound for L.A.. The Giants will go with Webb (11-3, 3.03 ERA, 158 K)
The winner will meet the Atlanta Braves in the National League Championship Series. Atlanta finished off the Milwaukee Brewers in four NLDS games. The Braves ended their series with a 5-4 home win on Tuesday.
The best-of-seven NLCS will begin on Saturday at a to-be-determined time. The winner of the San Francisco-Los Angeles series will have homefield advantage and host Game 1 against Atlanta. TBS will be the television home for the entire matchup.
The Boston Red Sox and Houston Astros will face off in the American League Championship Series starting Friday.
The ALCS and NLCS winners will square off in the best-of-seven World Series starting Tuesday, Oct. 26.
For all the latest Sports News Click Here
For the latest news and updates, follow us on Google News.
