“That is the way this game is — you win, you lose, you celebrate and you suffer.”
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Sage words from beloved Dodgers Hall of Fame broadcaster Vin Scully, who retired in 2016 after calling his fair share of exciting Brooklyn and Los Angeles Dodgers victories, as well as those that ended in heartbreak.
It has been a rough week for Dodger fans. The highs and lows of the postseason can make even the strongest fan feel more stressed than normal during this most unusual postseason.
Before the start of Game-5 in the National League Championship Series – aka the potential elimination game for the Dodgers, with the Braves up three games to one. The Dodgers had been struggling, unable to string together quality at-bats. There has been a dismal combined total batting average of .149 between some of the team’s core hitters – right fielder, Mookie Betts, center fielder Cody Bellinger, left fielder AJ Pollock, infielder Chris Taylor, and catcher Will Smith.
Fans are notably discouraged since the team finished first in the league during the shortened 60-game regular season and managed to sweep in the first two rounds of the playoffs – the Wild Card series against the Milwaukee Brewers and the Division series against the San Diego Padres.
NLCS Recap: Game-1 was a 5-1 win for Atlanta. The Dodgers managed to battle back late in the game but still lost to the Braves 8-7 in Game-2. Then the Boys in Blue showed up with bats on fire during Game-3 and pretty much secured the win after the first inning, ending up with a 15-3 win. Things were looking up for the team after the record setting win on Wednesday, and most hoped this would bode well for the next matchup. Unfortunately, the Braves took it personally and took Game-4 with a 10-2 beating against Los Angeles.
Enter the elimination game that had an entire fanbase cringing in anticipation of how Game-5 would play out. It would be worrisome to think some have come into the postseason with a lackluster mentality given the performances so far. It didn’t help that pitcher Alex Wood had an interesting perspective about the team’s playoff slump when asked during the Zoom Media presser before Game-4 on Thursday.
“I think one of the hard things for this team and organization, is you know, you get so used to – you win the division every year, you make a deep run in the postseason a lot of years. You have a lot of guys that have a lot of experience in these types of games,” Wood said.
He then went on to say, “That’s great, but also it can become – you can start to feel stagnant a little bit. At least speaking for myself, passion wise, or that ability to get up for a big series and a big game when things like this have become almost expected and normal.”
By the bottom of the second inning, Dodgers fans were already leaning heavily on coping mechanisms to survive the onslaught up to that point. Pick your poison – stress eating/drinking, yelling at the television, taking to social media, or binge ordering on Amazon.com.
Starter Dustin May lasted two innings before being replaced by reliever Joe Kelly. May faced eleven batters – he was able to strike out three but also walked two, both of which scored.
The turning point in the game came with a challenge on a tag-up play in the bottom of the third inning with a call going the Dodger’s way. Right fielder, Mookie Betts made a stellar catch off the shoe tops on a fly ball fromDansby Swanson. Marcell Ozuna stepped off the bag, failing to tag up on third base before running home. After a video review, Ozuna was called out and the inning thankfully ended.
In the top of the fourth, on the fourth pitch of the inning, Dodgers shortstop Corey Seager hit a much-needed solo home run to cut the Braves 2-0 lead in half. Seager, who was recently named a finalist for the 2020 Hank Aaron Award, is no stranger to carrying the weight of the team on his shoulders.
The former 2016 Rookie of the Year, two-time All-Star, and two-time Silver Slugger stepped up in a big way this season, making numerous clutch plays to turn games around for the team. Of note, was the tide-turning three-run home run he hit in the bottom of the seventh in Game-2 that started a rally. The Dodgers would eventually lose by one, but it was better than the shutout that had been underway up to that point.
Things got even more interesting in the top of the sixth. Betts hit a single and stole second base. With Dodgers third baseman Justin Turner at the plate, Betts was on his way to third base when Turner happened to hit the ball right to Braves second baseman Ozzie Albies, who threw to third baseman Austin Riley on a fielder’s choice in an effort to get Mookie out. Realizing his fate, Betts purposely got into a 4-5-6-1 rundown that allowed Turner to get to second base.
But wait … There’s more!
Dodgers first baseman Max Muncy drew a huge six-pitch walk, bringing up Dodgers catcher Will Smith to face Braves pitcher Will Smith. After a full count, Smith surprised everyone by hitting a three-run home run. His 404-foot blast put the Dodgers ahead for the first time on the night at 4-2.
“He’s a good hitter – he’s considered one of the best in the world, just like everybody in the lineup is,” said pitcher Will Smith of catcher Will Smith after the game. “He put together a really good AB, took some really tough pitches and then put a good swing on a pitch inside and got the head to it and clipped me. Oh well.”
During the top of the seventh inning, Dodgers second baseman Chris Taylor came up to bat after left fielder Pollock and designated hitter Joc Pederson struck out. Taylor appeared to have been hit by a pitch on the hand by Braves right-hander Jacob Webb, but a challenge of the call by Braves manager Brian Snitker confirmed that the ball had hit the end of the bat, not Taylor’s hand for a foul ball. Two pitches later, Taylor doubled to left to get into scoring position. Betts then singled to left, scoring CT3 to give the Dodgers a 5-2 lead and bringing Seager to the plate.
On the first pitch of the at-bat and with Betts going, Seager hit his second home run of the night to make the score 7-2.
In the top of the eighth, Braves center fielder Cristian Pache robbed Muncy of a home run at the wall in what would be a 1-2-3 inning.
In the bottom of the eighth, Dodgers fans got a quick scare when Atlanta’s four-time All-Star Freddie Freeman hit a double to left field that may have momentarily tweaked Chris Taylor’s right ankle while throwing (he was now playing in left field). As Freeman was sliding into second, he got a piece of third baseman Justin Turner’s knee with his cleats as Turner covered the base and the ball slipped out of his glove. Taylor was able to walk it off, Turner looked to be okay, and fans collectively breathed a sigh of relief. Freddie would ultimately come in to score after tagging up on a couple of sacrifice plays, but the Dodgers still held a 7-3 lead.
Dodgers manager Dave Roberts then surprised – and perhaps disappointed – fans by bringing in struggling closer Kenley Jansen to finish off the bottom of the ninth inning. Jansen’s track record of late had been less than stellar. There have been many questions in the media about the Jansen loss of velocity and giving up runs in critical games. As such, Dodger fans would be noticeably nervous hearing ‘California Love,’ Jansen’s popular entrance song. But Jansen surprised – and quieted – his critics by striking out the side, needing only 12 pitches (11 strikes) to do so to secure the 7-3 Dodgers win.
When questioned about his (perceived) lack of confidence during his Zoom press conference on Saturday morning, Jansen was very clear about those perceptions:
“If I ever lose confidence, I’ll stop playing this game,” the 33-year-old Willemstad, Curacao native, three-time All-Star, and two-time Trevor Hoffman National League Reliever of the Year recipient said with purpose.
With the win, the Dodgers now trail the Braves by only one game in the best-of-seven NLCS. And while it may not be nearly as sensational as Vin Scully’s famous postseason call of Kirk Gibson’s epic walk-off home run back in 1988, the Hall of Fame broadcaster’s famous call still rings true in this unique COVID-19-impacted year for the Boys in Blue who face yet another elimination game later today:
“In a year that has been so improbable, the impossible has happened.”
Let’s go Dodgers!