Mookie Betts scored a home run and drove in three runs. Will Smith also made a deep play and the Los Angeles Dodgers beat the San Francisco Giants 7-2 on Tuesday to force NL Division Series Game 5.
On Thursday, the 107-win Giants will host the 106 win Dodgers. The winner will advance to Atlanta in the NL Championship Series. Milwaukee was eliminated by the Braves on Tuesday.
In Game 3, the Dodgers had just five hits and lost 1-0 to the World Series champions. They had 12 hits by Tuesday’s second inning and had 12 in total. Walker Buehler gave a brief, but effective, outing on three days rest.
Buehler spoke to Dave Roberts in Game 2, after the Dodgers won 9-2. He stated that he wanted Game 4 to begin on short rest, which was the first time in Buehler’s career. In 4 1/3 innings, the right-hander gave up one run and three hits. On 71 pitches, he struck out four batters and walked two.
Buehler was greeted by 52,935 blue-tail-waving fans with a standing ovation after he gave up the leadoff single to Evan Longoria, and the walking pinch-hitter Steven Duggar.
In the second, Giants starter Anthony DeSclafani was chased by the Dodgers. He allowed five runs and two hits, and struck out two.
Six pitchers were exhausted by the Giants in the fifth innings, leaving them with only three relief pitchers. Curt Casali, the Giants’ only backup catcher, was still available from the bench by the seventh. In the eighth, he pinch-hit.
The steady, biting wind that dominated Game 3 was gone. There was only a slight breeze that could ruffle the center field flags.
Smith scored two runs in the eighth to extend the lead to 7-2.
Betts scored in the fourth, and Cody Bellinger scored in the fifth with a bases-loaded sacrifice fly. This gave him a 5-1 lead.
Giants scored runs in the fifth on Darin Rus’ RBI groundout against Joe Kelly and Kris Bryant’s RBI groundout to end the eighth. All-Star catcher Buster Posey was a career.257 hitter during the postseason and went 0 for 4.
Buehler started the fourth safe, but his shot was ruled an error by Jarlin Garcia. Betts’ two-run homer to right-field pavilion extended the lead to 4-0
The Dodgers scored the first run with Trea Turner, NL batting champion,’s RBI double to right center that rolled to the wall. This score was also scored by Corey Seager who singled.
Chris Taylor’s sacrifice fly made it two to one in the second.
San Francisco had runners at each corner in the second inning due to consecutive one-out singles from Bryant and LaMonte Wade Jr. Buehler was able to get out of the jam by retiring Longoria with a swinging strike, and Mike Yastrzemski with a liner to the second.
The Dodgers were 3-0 in elimination games last postseason and rallied from a 3-1 deficit in order to defeat Atlanta in the NLCS.
LIGHTNING FAST
Brusdar Graterol, a Dodgers reliever pitched the sixth. Six of his seven pitches were clocked at 101 mph or higher. Bryant was the only batter to reach on Bryant’s infield single to first. Bryant was also retired. Graterol retired Posey and pinch-hitter Wilmer Flores, while Longoria was grounded out on groundouts.
DON’T LAYOFF
A fan landed on the warning track in right-field corner, causing the game to be delayed briefly. Multiple security guards quickly pounced on this intruder and he was taken into custody.
UP NEXT
Giants: Although Logan Webb was not announced as the starter for Game 5 on Thursday (Thursday), it was widely expected that he would be.
Dodgers: LHP Julio Urias starts Game 5. Majors’ only 20-game winner was Julio Urias, who leads MLB with a.870 winning percentage.
