The Los Angeles Dodgers pulled out a win in Game 2 of the National League Division Series against the Philadelphia Phillies, but it wasn’t without late drama that put fans from both teams on the edge of their seats.
After the Dodgers entered the bottom of the ninth inning with a 4-1 lead, Blake Treinen allowed a single and two doubles that put the Phillies within one run, and the tying run was at second base in the form of Nick Castellanos with no one out.
Alex Vesia entered to face Bryson Stott, and the Dodgers pulled off one of the most important plays of the game. As Stott tried to bunt Castellanos over, Max Muncy charged in to field it, while Mookie Betts broke for third base to cover the bag.
Muncy cleanly fielded it and threw to Betts at third, and he was able to catch the ball and make the tag, completing a wheel play to take a runner out of scoring position.
“It was an impromptu play,” Dodgers manager Dave Roberts said after the dramatic win. “I just told Mookie, ‘You know Stott’s going to bunt. He’s a good bunter. Let’s just run a wheel play. And, Max, be aggressive, field it. And, Mookie, get over there and beat Castellanos there.’
“Those guys executed it to perfection. They made it look a lot easier than it was. And for me, that was our only chance, really, to win that game in that moment.”
Roberts added the Dodgers never once practiced that play, not even in Spring Training. For a shortstop who is still pretty new to the position, Betts executed it perfectly, making it all the more impressive.
“Mookie did a great job of disguising the wheel play,” Phillies manager Rob Thompson said. “We teach our guys that if you see wheel, just pull it back and slash because you’ve got all kinds of room in the middle. But Mookie broke so late that it was tough for Stotty to pick it up.”
Betts disguising the play, and then making sure he applied the tag and held onto the ball with Castellanos sliding into him, is a play not many shortstops would make. Some would sell out too early, or end up being too late to the bag, and that’s without even considering the slide and the pressure of the moment.
“He’s a baseball player,” Roberts said, giving one of his highest compliments. “It’s one of those things where you can kind of organically create a play — and certainly it doesn’t happen with a tag play at third base — and he disguised it. And the foot speed, obviously, much more fleet of foot than Castellanos.
“To still have to field it and then on the run and still make a tag play, tough play. He hung in there with Castellanos bearing down on him. But Mookie’s growth has been incredible.”
After being taken out on the slide, Betts also had to quickly re-gain his awareness and get up to make sure Stott didn’t advance to second base after the bunt. That also required Freddie Freeman to hustle down to cover the bag after crashing, in case the bunt went to third base.
“The conversation during was that, obviously, if we run the wheel play that means there’s no one at second base,” Freeman said. “So that’s when I chimed in. I said, ‘If he bunts to third base, Max, you throw to Mookie. Tommy goes to first and I’ll sprint to second base if it’s not coming to me.’
“That’s why you saw me running to second base. We were just coming up with a plan on the wheel play to make sure he couldn’t go home to second. Obviously, they pulled it off perfectly.”
The reality is, that play is likely going to be forgotten by most moving forward. It’s not a game-winning RBI, grand slam, home run robbery, or any other exciting highlight-reel play that most fans will keep in their minds.
But for Roberts, those on the field, and the impact it made in the game, it was undeniably a special play that highlights both the growth Betts has had at shortstop since last year, and ended up being a key reason the Dodgers have the Phillies on the brink of elimination instead of series tied at 1-1.
“I hope everyone realizes how hard it is to switch positions and then do it at an elite level that Mookie has done it at this year,” Freeman said. “We were talking about doing a wheel play a couple of weeks ago in a certain situation as well. So that’s been on our mind to kind of bring that out in that situation, and that was just the perfect time to do it.
“Nick obviously is not Trea Turner running, so we had a better chance of that. That’s why we were gung ho on that wheel play. And obviously Mookie and Max and everyone just confident in pulling that off. Everything was just perfect on that play.”
Dodgers close it out following wheel play
After the Dodgers recorded that first out on the wheel play, Harrison Bader immediately followed with a pinch-hit single, which would have tied the game if not for recording the out at third base. Vesia then got Kepler to ground into a force out for the second out.
With the top of the lineup coming up, Roberts turned to Roki Sasaki to record the final out. Sasaki did that on just two pitches, getting Turner to ground out to second base to end the game. It also required another defensive highlight by Freeman to pick the ball out of the dirt.
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