Reminiscent of the 2018 National League Championship Series, the seven games the Los Angeles Dodgers and Milwaukee Brewers played over the past 10 days brought about plenty of drama and awe-inspiring play.
The series finale at Miller Park saw a bit of everything, as the Dodgers jumped ahead early but still needed plenty of heroics from Cody Bellinger in the late innings to finish with a 4-3 edge over the Brewers in their regular-season matchups.
Sunday initially appeared as though it would belong to Joc Pederson, who was celebrating his 27th birthday. Pederson opened the game with a home run and later hit his second homer, temporarily tying him with Bellinger for the team lead (10).
Bellinger also had his hand in the Dodgers’ building out a 4-0 lead by the second inning, as he delivered an RBI single in each of his first two at-bats. But the focus shifted to his leaping catch at the wall in right-center field to rob Christian Yelich of a home run in the eighth inning.
That loomed large as Kenley Jansen later surrendered a game-tying three-run shot to Eric Thames. With some of the wind deflated in the Dodgers’ sails, Bellinger lifted them off the mat with a two-out home run off Josh Hader in the ninth inning.
He became only the second left-handed batter to ever hit a homer off the Brewers’ vaunted closer.
Given all that transpired, it was easy to forget Clayton Kershaw went six innings and allowed just two runs, which came on a Lorenzo Cain homer. Kershaw had a no-hitter through four innings and finished with six strikeouts.
