Cody Bellinger hit and took away a home run at Globe Life Field and although the San Diego Padres also got in on the act, the Los Angeles Dodgers hung on for a 6-5 win in Game 2 of the National League Division Series.
Wil Myers’ RBI double gave the Padres a lead in the second inning, and after hard-hit balls amounted to nothing but outs, the Dodgers gained traction in the third.
Singles by AJ Pollock and Austin Barnes put runners at the corners with nobody out, and two batters later Corey Seager pulled a two-run double down the right-field line. Max Muncy’s jam-shot RBI single into center field extended the Dodgers’ lead to 3-1.
Bellinger’s solo home run to lead off the fourth inning provided Clayton Kershaw with more of a cushion. Barnes singled with two outs, only to be thrown out on his attempt to go first to third on Mookie Betts’ base hit into left field.
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Potentially costing the Dodgers a run loomed large as Kershaw surrendered back-to-back solo home runs to Manny Machado and Eric Hosmer in the sixth inning. Up to that point Kershaw had relied on a fastball to offset an inconsistent slider.
Machado’s home run came on a slider low and in — a testament to his hitting ability — but Hosmer’s came on a fastball that was left over the plate and dropped from the velocity Kershaw had been throwing with. It marked a third time Kershaw surrendered back-to-back homers in the postseason.
After Blake Treinen hit Trent Grisham to put the tying run on base with two outs in the seventh, Brusdar Graterol was summoned to face Fernando Tatis Jr. The moment quickly became Bellinger’s, as he robbed Tatis of a go-ahead home run with a leaping catch at the wall in center field.
Graterol threw his cap and glove toward the Dodgers dugout in jubilation, which angered Machado. He and Max Muncy exchanged words, and Machado appeared to tell Graterol he was waiting to face him in the eighth inning.
The Dodgers scored two runs before it came to that, and Machado’s at-bat went off without issue. He and Graterol only appeared to exchange much calmer words after the groundout.
Kenley Jansen allowed an RBI double and run-scoring single in the ninth, failing to finish out the save. It left Joe Kelly to face Tatis, who represented the go-ahead run at the plate. Tatis and Machado walked to keep the game alive and load the bases for Hosmer, who
The Dodgers and Atlanta Braves are the only teams who have yet to lose a game this postseason.
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