Cody Bellinger played a big part in the Los Angeles Dodgers advancing to the World Series for the second consecutive season, being named the MVP of the National League Championship Series.
The 23-year-old hit a walk-off single in Game 4 of the series, and then hit a go-ahead two-run home run in the second inning of Game 7 to help secure a 5-1 victory in a hostile environment against the Milwaukee Brewers at Miller Park.
Bellinger has now been in the Majors for two seasons, and the Dodgers have made it to the World Series in both of them. They weren’t able to get the job done a year ago though, so while Bellinger understands how lucky he is, he also knows the job is not finished yet.
“We know how hard it is to make the World Series; to do it two years in a row is really special,” Bellinger said.
“I know how lucky I am to be a part of it two years in a row. Like you said, we’ve got a tough series against the Red Sox that’s coming up. But we’re going to enjoy this right now and get our mind turned around tomorrow.”
The Brewers were certainly a worthy opponent that did not make things easy on the Dodgers, but ultimately, Bellinger feels the experience gained a season ago helped Los Angeles come out on top in Game 7. “We definitely are going to tip our cap to the Brewers,” he said.
“They were a great team. Obviously they put up a really tough fight. Like I said, we’ve been there, we’ve done that. We had Buehler on the mound today who has nasty stuff, who loves the big game. Once we gave him the lead we really liked our chances.”
Bellinger began the postseason just 1-for-21 before breaking out in Game 4, and it was clear to see that he was pressing a bit. He maintained that he felt good at the plate and credited the team’s veterans for helping him stay focused.
“I wasn’t seeing any results. And luckily for me I’ve, got a lot of veterans on this team,” Bellinger said. “They said stick with the process and the results will come. And that’s exactly what I did and it showed.”
Bellinger also struggled in the World Series last year, striking out a record 17 times. So he will look to turn things around this time around and lead the Dodgers to their first World Series championship in 30 years.
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