Behind a dominant performance from Clayton Kershaw on three days’ rest, the Los Angeles Dodgers staved off elimination to force Game 5 in their National League Division Series matchup with the New York Mets.
The series shifted back to Dodger Stadium for a winner-take-all-game that was played on Oct. 15, or as more commonly known in Los Angeles, the date in which Kirk Gibson’s pinch-hit home run lifted the Dodgers to a walk-off win in Game 1 of the 1988 World Series.
Twenty-seven years later, the Dodgers were unable to capture that same magic and were undone by Mets second baseman Daniel Murphy. With an already impressive four-game postseason stretch under his belt, Murphy added to his lore in Game 5.
Murphy led off the fourth inning with a base hit, then alertly went first to third base on a one-out walk to Lucas Duda. The Dodgers shifted their infield for Duda to pull the ball, leaving plenty of space between shortstop Corey Seager and third base, and creating a window of opportunity for Murphy.
“The play where Murphy stole third, that was a shock. I really don’t blame anybody,” Dodgers Hall of Fame broadcaster Vin Scully told SportsNet LA’s Alanna Rizzo in an exclusive interview. “Oh sure, you could say well Corey Seager should’ve been guarding third, but we’ve never seen that before.
“To my knowledge no one has ever done it. So now having been burned once, they should be better prepared the next time.” Murphy scored to tie the game on Travis d’Arnaud’s sacrifice fly; the Mets went on to eliminate the Dodgers with a 3-2 win.
Scully missed the postseason so that he could rest and recover after undergoing a recommended medical procedure. However, had he been on the radio broadcast as was initially planned, the voice of the Dodgers said he would’ve missed the play just as the team did.
“You know what I was thinking when it happened? I was thinking if I were broadcasting, I probably would’ve missed it. Because I would’ve been writing my little ‘W’ in my scorebook and he would’ve run to third,” Scully said.
“The crowd would roar and I would look up and say, ‘what happened?’ That was my first thought. I bet I would’ve missed it. I empathized with every infielder down there because not that I’m the same as they are, but I might have missed it.”
Scully will return for a final season in 2016, then will say goodbye after a remarkable 67-year career with the Dodgers organization.
