The Los Angeles Dodgers continued with their disciplined approach at the plate in Game 3 of the National League Division Series, and it forced Zack Greinke to labor for much of his outing. But despite that, he only allowed one run through four innings.
That came on Cody Bellinger’s RBI groundout in the first inning. Greinke otherwise worked out of trouble in the third, when Justin Turner’s one-out single put runners at the corners. Cody Bellinger flied out to shallow left field on the first pitch he saw.
Yasiel Puig then walked to load the bases, but Austin Barnes grounded out. Bellinger and Barnes would get their revenge on the former Dodgers pitcher.
Bellinger took a changeup and went opposite field for a solo home run in the fifth inning. It was his first at-bat after a conversation with manager Dave Roberts in the dugout.
“When he came back and put his bat back in the bat rack, I just told him how much I believed in him,” Roberts said postgame. “And to just go out there and don’t try to do too much. Don’t really worry about the results. Just go out there and compete.”
Bellinger added to his highlight reel in the bottom of the fifth when he tracked a Jeff Mathis pop-up in foul territory. He approached the Dodgers dugout, extended his arm to make the catch and spilled over the railing.
“I should have been a little bit quicker to save him,” quipped Roberts. “But it was a heck of a play going the rail.”
The Dodgers’ win put them in the NL Championship Series for a second consecutive year and third time in the past five seasons. Although Roberts had already said his team would not celebrate in the Chase Field pool, the Diamondbacks took preemptive measures by guarding it with police on horsebacks.
