The Los Angeles Dodgers held off a late rally by the San Diego Padres to come away with a thrilling 6-5 victory in Game 2 of the National League Division Series at Globe Life Field.
Cody Bellinger had his fingerprints all over the win, hitting a solo home run to extend the Dodgers’ lead in the fourth before robbing Fernando Tatis Jr. of what would’ve been a go-ahead two-out, two-run homer three innings later.
“It’s going to take a while to wind down from that one,” Bellinger said to begin his postgame press conference. “That’s postseason baseball right there.”
The historic night put Bellinger in uncharted territory. He became the first player to hit a home run and rob a home run in the same postseason since ESPN began tracking the stat in 2012.
Given the circumstances, Bellinger was more pleased with his web gem than the home run he hit earlier in the game. “In that situation, that was cool. People have asked me if I’d rather hit a home run or rob a home run, it’s about the same,” he said.
“In that circumstance, robbing that home run felt pretty good.”
According to Statcast, the ball that left Tatis’ bat had a 105 mph exit velocity, 33 degree launch angle and expected batting average of .860.
“I knew he hit it, so in my head it was either, ‘That’s gone off the black screen, or I’m going to get to the wall and maybe have a chance to catch it,” Bellinger said.
“Just kind of turned around as fast as I could, got to the fence and saw it was robbable. So I decided to try to time up the jump.”
Roberts deems Bellinger’s catch a ‘game-changing play’
Bellinger’s robbery of Tatis wound up being even more important considering the Padres tacked on two runs off Kenley Jansen in the ninth.
Dodgers manager Dave Roberts was well aware of the magnitude of the catch and offered high praise for Bellinger. “Great players make great plays in big moments,” Roberts said.
“Cody did just that. I just don’t know many guys that can make that play. Got turned around a little bit, but still recovered. His length and ability to jump, control his body, it was a game-changing play.”
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