Through the first three games of the series between the Los Angeles Dodgers and Philadelphia Phillies, taking a 2-0 lead only meant trouble. The Dodgers were ahead by two runs in the first two games and lost each.
On Wednesday, it was the Phillies who jumped out to a 2-0 lead. The Dodgers erased their deficit but were unable to hang on for a win. They reversed their fortunes in the series finale despite losing a 2-0 lead in the bottom of the third inning.
Trailing 4-2 in the sixth inning, Curtis Granderson’s second home run in the series cut the deficit in half. Andre Ethier pinch-hit for Walker Buehler in the seventh and lifted an opposite-field homer to tie the game.
Chris Taylor followed with a triple and later scored the go-ahead run on Cody Bellinger’s soft groundout to first base. The Dodgers’ 5-4 win snapped a four-game losing streak and salvaged a four-game series with the Phillies.
It also meant Los Angeles finished .500 on their 10-game road trip and lowered their magic number to clinch the National League West to one. They begin a six-game homestand Friday, their last of the regular season.
Any Dodgers victory or loss by the Arizona Diamondbacks will amount to the organization laying claim to a fifth consecutive division title.