The Los Angeles Dodgers welcomed the crosstown rival L.A. Angels to Dodger Stadium for a Freeway Series to close out the regular season, coming away with a 9-5 victory on Friday night.
The ball was flying at Chavez Ravine as the two teams combined for eight home runs, with the Dodgers hitting five of them.
With the Dodgers trailing 3-1 after Mike Trout hit a three-run home run off Clayton Kershaw, Justin Turner cut into the deficit with a solo homer in the bottom of the third inning.
He then came up in the fifth and left the yard again, almost clearing the left-field pavilion with another solo shot. Turner may only have four home runs on the year, but he is swinging the bat the best he has all season and looking healthy after dealing with a hamstring injury.
AJ Pollock also continued his strong showing with a solo home run in the fourth. He is up to 14 home runs, which isn’t far off his career high of 21 that required a full 162-game season.
The Dodgers again found themselves trailing, 5-4, in the fifth after Turner’s second home run, although Will Smith was able to change that. Max Muncy reached on a single and then Smith battled out a nine-pitch at-bat, resulting in a two-run home run to left to give the Dodgers the lead. Smith is now up to seven home runs of his own.
The final homer of the night came off the bat of Edwin Rios in the eighth inning to provide some insurance. He also has seven home runs after hitting a two-run shot to right, scoring Corey Seager, who walked.
Dodgers eliminate Angels from postseason contention
With the win, the Dodgers officially eliminated the Angels from postseason contention. Their chances to begin with were slim as they needed to sweep the Dodgers and the Texas Rangers to take all three games from the Houston Astros this weekend.
Houston dropped their series, although the Angels were not able to capitalize against the Dodgers, so the Astros will be headed back to the playoffs.
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