[ad_1]
LOS ANGELES – The fourth game of the National League championship series needed a hero even though it lasted all night. And it's almost happened.
Cody Bellinger managed to come out of a terrible playoff match with a single in the 13th inning, leading the Los Angeles Dodgers to a 2-1 win over the Milwaukee Brewers on Tuesday night at Dodger Stadium. The long-awaited victory of the Dodgers tied the NLCS to two games each.
From the first launch of each series to the last of Game 7, you can follow the full post-season MLB on ESPN Radio. Listening »
Bellinger was 1-for-22 for the playoffs after stealing as a crush on the seventh inning. Although he took part in the contest at this late hour, it turns out that the night was just beginning for him and for all the others who participated in the marathon of five hours and 15 minutes.
The allusions to Bellinger's exploits at the end of the match were dropped earlier in the night. In the eighth against Josh Hader of Milwaukee, the southpaw who is impervious to the batters on the same side, Bellinger pierced a single opposite field on the left against an offbeat Brewers defense. This did not lead to a race, but it sewed the seeds of what happened later.
"It's nice to see the results," Bellinger said. "I'm sticking to the process, but I feel good for most series.If I stick with the process, they will fall, and this kind of show has been shown today." . "
Bellinger also contributed to the defense with a dive in the 10th. Lorenzo Cain seemed to have dropped a bullet in the space between the center and center right, but Bellinger knelt and caught him, sliding along the grass of the outfield as if he were on a toboggan.
"I saw him hanging up there, I ran as fast as I could and plunged for it," Bellinger said.
All this paved the way for the winning hit. Manny Machado completed a broken bat single on the left, leading to a first-base meeting with Jesus Aguilar of Milwaukee. Machado had contacted Aguilar's foot against the bag in the 10th inning. This led to words between the players, which led to the emptying of the canoes.
This time Machado and Aguilar exchanged jokes while hiding their words behind their hands. The conversation was short, as Machado quickly managed to reach the second goal on Junior Guerra's wild pitch.
"What's left on the pitch remains on the pitch," said Machado. "Between the lines."
Bellinger then blocked Guerra's 3-2 throw to the right, while Machado came close to third and beat Christian Yelich, giving the Dodgers their first playoff victory in more than 30 years. The Dodgers were out of the pond before Machado arrived at the house.
"Honestly, I did not even see them," says Machado. "I was trying to score."
Meanwhile, Bellinger never stopped running, turning into a back pedal and heading to the left field with a crowd of his teammates in pursuit. The author of the charge was none other than Bellinger's director, Dave Roberts, 46 years old.
"This is the first person I have done in front of me, except for the guys," said Bellinger. "I think we hugged a lot, I think it was the first time I was in a stunned field."
The celebration was understandable. After more than five hours, 16 throwers and 32 strikeouts, both teams were nearly exhausted. The bench and the Dodgers' desk were emptied; If the game had continued longer, Roberts should have inserted the Hyun-Jin Ryu starter – a strictly urgent option.
With Bellinger's blow, the urgency was avoided. Both teams now know that the series will return to Milwaukee after Wednesday's fifth game, which will begin just hours after the end of Tuesday's long match. The competition ended two minutes "faster" than the epic defeat of LA's match 5 against Houston at the World Series last year, the longest match in history. playoffs of the Dodgers.
"Understand and see what Cody has been through," Roberts said. "Really wear it and the weight of the world on him." So that he could get to this great place, I felt just for him and all our guys, I wanted to make sure to see him and the greet. [My] hamstring is good now, but it will be painful tomorrow. "
0:39
Cody Bellinger stands upright with the floor to make an incredible catch in the extra sleeves.
The question is, will any of the teams have enough throws to end up in a crucial match in a tied series?
As mentioned, Roberts used all of his techniques, although only Jansen (34 shots) scored a high number of shots. Clayton Kershaw will start at normal rest and Ryu will also be rested for the sixth match.
Things are a little more complicated for the Brewers, who used their emergency ace for 20 shots, the second night in a row he was used. He has never participated in three consecutive games. Corey Knebel started a run and played in all seven Milwaukee playoff games. Only Wade Davis and Greg Holland, both members of the 2014 Royals, had already done so before.
Brewers manager Craig Counsell had three other replacements with two sets or more: Freddy Peralta, Corbin Burnes and Guerra. Entering the 13th, the Brewers pen had thrown 11 scoreless innings, allowing only three hits, four draws and 17 draws. This is the subject of folklore if you win. But now that the Brewers have lost, it's the headache of tomorrow. When asked to start Wednesday's match with an uncertain availability of Hader, Counsell seemed upset, although it may be the product of such a long night.
"It's not about Josh," Counsell says. "We had to cover 13 baseball heats, I think every time you have to cover 13 innings and there's a match the next day, you're still worried about it."
Milwaukee did not use the long lifter Brandon Woodruff, the southpaw Xavier Cedeno nor the short lifter Jeremy Jeffress. And the office could receive an unexpected boost. The starter Gio Gonzalez had to leave in the second run when he sprained his ankle to try to get a player back in return. After the match, Gonzalez told ESPN's Pedro Gomez that he was waiting to be replaced on the club's roster before the fifth match. As a rule, his replacement must be a pitcher.
"We managed to stay away from two guys tonight," Counsell said. "But we are in a difficult situation, of course."
For the Dodgers, this ability to avoid a disaster is becoming a defining trait. They almost sank out of the playoff race until a late-season wave. They did not earn their sixth consecutive NL West title before beating Colorado Rockies in a tiebreaker. And with a loss on Tuesday, they should have won three straight against a Brewers team, including two in Milwaukee.
Instead, the clubs fought deep in the California night to finish on a clean slate. This series is just beginning, although both teams may be a little tired when they come to the stadium on Wednesday morning.
"Once I was out of the game," said Jansen. "I just felt annoying, good throwing, keep fighting, it's huge, we do not want to go down 3-1 and have to win all those games, especially two in Milwaukee – it's huge."
Source link
