The Los Angeles Dodgers took the field Thursday night with a chance to complete a National League Division Series sweep over the San Diego Padres, and they were able to get the job done with a 12-3 victory in Game 3.
The win secured a spot in the NL Championship Series for the fourth time in the last five years for the Dodgers, and they now will take on the Atlanta Braves beginning on Monday. Like the NLDS was, the entirety of the NLCS will be payed at Globe Life Field.
For most of the postseason, the Dodgers offense hasn’t clicked on all cylinders the way they did at points during the regular season. That wasn’t the case in Game 3 as they exploded for 14 hits and 12 runs, also walking nine times against a depleted Padres pitching staff.
Will Smith has had some bad luck to begin the postseason, but he broke out in a big way with a franchise playoff-record five hits, going 5-for-6 with three RBI.
Justin Turner also made history when he drove in a run on a single in the third inning, which was his 64th postseason hit to pass Steve Garvey and set a new Dodgers franchise record.
Perhaps the MVP of this series was Cody Bellinger as he did it on both sides of the ball. On top of homering and robbing Fernando Tatis Jr. of a home run in Game 2, Bellinger also had a strong night in Game 3 by going 2-for-5 with a walk.
He put the game on ice with a two-run triple in the ninth inning, which followed a two-run double from Smith.
Urias turns in strong outing out of bullpen
On the pitching side of things, the Dodgers were unconventional in Game 3 as they went to Dustin May as an opener. He tossed a scoreless first, but Adam Kolarek followed him and wasn’t as successful, allowing a pair of runs in the second inning.
Julio Urias entered with the bases loaded and two outs in the second, striking out Tatis on three pitches to escape the jam. That was a preview of what was to come for Urias as he was dominant in five innings of relief, ending any hopes of a comeback attempt for San Diego.
The lefty allowed just one hit and one run, which was unearned, while striking out six and walking one. Urías’ six strikeouts are the most in a postseason relief appearance in Dodgers history.
Blake Treinen, Pedro Baez and Dylan Floro then combined to toss 2.1 scoreless innings to finish out the sweep.
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