For the third time in the last four seasons, the Los Angeles Dodgers are heading back to the World Series. The journey to get there wasn’t easy, as the club had to erase a daunting 3-1 deficit against the Atlanta Braves in the National League Championship Series.
“We never gave up. This team never quit,” Corey Seager said after the Dodgers’ Game 7 win. “We came out every night expecting to win. We got down 3-1, we still expected to win.
“Tip your cap to that clubhouse, how we responded, how we always came back, we always kept energy, found the big play, found the big spark. Whether it was defensively, offensively, pitching, we grinded through that series. It was a lot of fun.”
Having played in three winner-take-all Game 7s since 2017, Seager believes his teammates were at an advantage. “I think that’s just the mentality that we have. It’s show up that day, win that day,” Seager said of the Dodgers’ approach going into the NLCS winner-take-all game.
“You can’t look forward. You start looking forward, things slip away, you lose focus. This team does a very good job of being in the moment. You’ve got to stay in the moment, you can’t get away from it. Just enjoy the ride and let the chips fall the way they are. Right now they’re falling our way.”
Game 7 will go down as one of the most memorable postseason wins in Dodgers history. The deciding contest featured a plethora of highlights, from Justin Turner’s huge double play in the fourth to Mookie Betts’ home-run saving catch one inning later.
Kiké Hernandez and Cody Bellinger also came through with clutch solo home runs that allowed L.A. to tie the score and ultimately take the lead. “I don’t know if you can pick,” Seager said when asked of his favorite Game 7 moment.
“J.T.’s was huge. Being second and third, no outs, and getting out of that inning with only giving up one. Mookie taking away a potential homer, another spark.
“Kiké’s pinch-hit, man, that was awesome. That’s the most excited I think I’ve ever been. And then Belli showing up when we needed it, hitting a huge homer. Urias at the end of the game shutting it down. Can’t say enough about what this team has done.”
Seager named 2020 NLCS MVP
Though he went hitless in five at-bats, Seager was named the 2020 NLCS MVP after the Dodgers’ Game 7 win. He batted an overall .310/.333/.897 with two doubles, five home runs and 11 RBI in seven games against the Braves.
“That was pretty cool. Obviously it wasn’t just me, though. That was a complete team effort,” Seager said of taking home NLCS MVP honors. “One through 28 went out there and just absolutely grinded through that series.
“That was a really fun Game 7. It was a test every single night and we were up for it, and we’re up for the next step too.”
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