With Inspiring Game 5 Win Friday, Dodgers Survive to Play a Game 6, Saturday at 1:38 p.m. on FS1
Reports of the Dodgers' demise are greatly exaggerated.
Instead of an early vacation and a five-game National League Championship Series loss, which much of Los Angeles thought was coming Friday night in Texas, the Dodgers survived to play another day. That day is Saturday, at 1:38 p.m., with Walker Buehler starting and all hands on deck.
Aanndd exhale.
Mookie Betts made a beautiful third-inning running catch, which turned into a double play with Marcell Ozuna cheating on what looked to him like a shoestring non-catch. Instead of a 3-0 deficit and a man in scoring position, L.A. trailed 2-zip and was out of the inning. Play of the game, and just the inspiration L.A. needed to get off the floor and take it to the ATL.
My reaction at the time was as follows:
Corey Seager hit the first of his two home runs in the top of the fourth to make it 2-1 Braves. Blake Treinen came in and went one-two-three, the first of six Dodgers relievers to pitch seven frames with only one allowed, and L.A. was back in business.
Betts lead off the sixth with an infield hit, Max Muncy worked a big walk two outs later, catcher Will Smith homered off reliever Will Smith and Los Angeles had turned the game around to lead 4-2.
Chris Taylor smacked a two-out double in the seventh, Betts singled him in and and Seager followed with a homer to give the Dodgers a five-run cushion. Victor Gonzalez allowed a run, but Pedro Baez, Brusdar Graterol and Kenley Jansen -- yes, Jansen -- pitched an inning each to extend the NLCS to six games.
Look for Buehler to be primed for another elimination game with the Dodgers playing as the home team tomorrow, and in Game 7, if they are so fortunate. The Braves will go with their best, in Game 1 starter Max Fried, who limited L.A. to a run on five hits, while striking out nine in the series opener Monday. Keep in mind that the Dodgers will have benefitted from seeing the tough left-hander five days earlier, and as is often the case with this club, will be ready to knock him around with a second opportunity. We'll cross the bridge to Game 7 when we get there.
And remember, glove conquers all.
Howard Cole has been writing about baseball on the internet since Y2K. Follow him on Twitter.
Video courtesy of Spectrum SportsNetLA/Los Angeles Dodgers.
