The Los Angeles Dodgers completed a three-game sweep of the Arizona Diamondbacks in the National League Division Series behind a 3-1 victory at Chase Field on Monday night. The Dodgers forced Zack Greinke to labor through his five-plus innings, while Yu Darvish turned in arguably his best outing.
Cody Bellinger’s RBI groundout in the first inning gave the Dodgers a 1-0 lead, he extended it with a solo home run in the fifth inning, and Austin Barnes’ line-drive home run in the sixth knocked Greinke out of the game.
Because of what transpired in 2013 when the Dodgers clinched the NL West title with a win at Chase Field, manager Dave Roberts faced questioning on whether his club would also celebrate in the pool.
Roberts was adamant it would not happen, pointing to the Dodgers’ bigger goal and professional mindset and focus. Furthermore, the team’s NLDS roster this year is without many of the same players from the 2013 club.
The Diamondbacks took steps to ensure there would not be a potential change in course by protecting the pool with police on horseback as soon as the final out was recorded.
Protecting the pool. pic.twitter.com/rSjzQcaNgi
— Dylan Hernandez (@dylanohernandez) October 10, 2017
— Molly Knight (@molly_knight) October 10, 2017
With their win, the Dodgers advanced to the NL Championship Series for a second consecutive year and third time in the past five seasons. They will face either the Chicago Cubs or Washington Nationals in Game 1 of the NLCS on Saturday night at Dodger Stadium.
