3 years ago
301
Have we said pennant contention shot tin thrust you retired of your caput if you fto it?
As the bottommost of the seventh inning began Wednesday night, Dodgers manager Dave Roberts was trending connected Twitter for precisely the incorrect reasons. The Dodgers were trailing San Diego, 9-5, the San Francisco Giants had won and were astir to spell 3 games up successful the National League West with 4 to play, and the pitchforks and torches were being readied.
And past the Dodgers pulled a mates of pages retired of their past and each was forgiven. For the moment.
Five location runs successful the seventh and eighth innings completed a comeback that astatine slightest gave the Dodgers a small spot much of a pulse. Normally that sounds comic erstwhile referencing a squad that had conscionable won its 102nd crippled of the season, but see the circumstances.
Mookie Betts’ solo changeable starring disconnected the seventh seemed a whimper of protest. When Max Muncy and AJ Pollock deed back-to-back shots disconnected Emilio Pagán starring disconnected the eighth, fans – and players – started to perk up. Chris Taylor’s regular alert shot unduly excited the customers, but past Cody Bellinger’s thrust into the close tract pavilion tied the people and had the spot rocking.
And erstwhile pinch-hitter Justin Turner deed 1 to the basal of the bullpen gross successful near tract for a double, and Corey Seager deed 1 implicit the partition successful right-center for what turned retired to beryllium the game-winning homer, it was 1 of those moments that those successful the ballpark mightiness retrieve forever.
Maybe it was fate, oregon karma, oregon a motion from above, that Seager deed the deciding location tally portion Nomar Garciaparra was astatine the microphone connected the Spectrum SportsNet L.A. broadcast. Those who were successful the ballpark for a Dodgers-Padres crippled connected Sept. 18, 2006 – and particularly those who near aboriginal and past poured backmost into the stadium erstwhile things went brainsick – volition understand.
That was the nighttime the Padres, past battling the Dodgers for the part title, came into the ninth with a 9-5 lead. Jeff Kent, J.D. Drew, Russell Martin and Marlon Anderson deed consecutive location runs, the past 2 disconnected aboriginal Hall of Famer Trevor Hoffman, to necktie the score, and Garciaparra deed a two-run walk-off blast successful the 10th aft the Padres had taken the pb for an 11-10 victory.
Roberts was asked astir the resemblance to that game, and pardon him for considering it a sore subject. He was playing for the Padres that night.
“Since you brought it up? It surely reminded maine of that night,” helium said. “It surely had feelings of that. And to beryllium successful this dugout, (it’s a) overmuch amended feeling than being successful the visiting dugout. But, yeah, aforesaid 2 opponents and a batch of the aforesaid vibe I retrieve being retired there. Thank you for that.”
(Worth noting, for those who judge successful the powerfulness of history: Be careful. The Dodgers mislaid 2 consecutive close aft that crippled to autumn retired of archetypal place, coiled up arsenic the chaotic paper and were knocked retired successful the NL Division Series by the Mets.)
There is much caller precedent, successful the back-to-back-to-back ninth-inning location runs by Yasiel Puig, Bellinger and Turner to necktie an April, 2017 crippled with the Phillies that the Dodgers would win, 6-5.
“I 100 percent retrieve that game,” Bellinger said. “Very akin … I’m blessed to beryllium a portion of both.”
This night? When Betts’ homer landed, starring disconnected the seventh, Roberts said seat manager Bob Geren told him they’d triumph this game.
“The eternal optimist,” Roberts said. “But Mookie getting a 2-0 heater and conscionable being assertive with it, I deliberation helium said it was 1 of the hardest balls he’s ever hit. And you get wrong three, you consciousness similar you got a shot. And truthful guys down that followed up.
“To spot however it played out, beauteous incredible, you know, that eighth inning. But getting it wrong three, we had a bully chance.”
As Bellinger – 2 games backmost from his latest injured database stint and lone successful the crippled due to the fact that Gavin Lux ran into the halfway tract partition chasing a alert shot – enactment it: “I don’t deliberation anyone expects that, to beryllium honest, but that’s the benignant of endowment that we have. Lineup’s truly deep. And it was conscionable a brainsick inning. … It’s bully to beryllium a portion of it. And it’s a immense momentum displacement close there.”
Possibly, though the regular grind of a 162-game play tends to dampen the chances of shifting momentum. And anyway, it’s not needfully the Dodgers who request that momentum close now. They’ve won 8 of 10 overall, 11 consecutive astatine location and 8 consecutive against the Padres and are 39-13 since Aug. 1.
Arizona, which sends Madison Bumgarner retired to look his erstwhile squad Thursday night, tin usage that momentum. So tin the Padres erstwhile they play their last bid of the play successful San Francisco this weekend. You see, adjacent arsenic good arsenic the Dodgers person been playing, and adjacent aft specified a memorable comeback, the astir apt script remains a chaotic paper crippled against red-hot St. Louis and Adam Wainwright adjacent Wednesday successful The Ravine.
In these circumstances, adjacent with a 3rd 100-victory run successful 4 afloat seasons since 2017, the borderline of the cliff is ne'er acold away.
jalexander@scng.com
@Jim_Alexander connected Twitter
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