Dodgers eke out win over Padres for 2-0 edge
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[October 08, 2020]
Cody Bellinger hit a home run
and made a spectacular, over-the-wall catch in the seventh inning as
the Los Angeles Dodgers held on Wednesday and moved one win away
from the National League Championship Series with a 6-5 victory over
the San Diego Padres at Arlington, Texas.
Clayton Kershaw (2-0) gave up three runs on six hits over six
innings for the Dodgers, who lead the best-of-five NL Division
Series 2-0. Kershaw struck out six and walked none to win for the
second time in two starts during this year's postseason.
Corey Seager had a two-run double among his three hits for Los
Angeles, and Max Muncy added two hits and two RBIs.
Manny Machado and Eric Hosmer hit back-to-back home runs in the
sixth inning for San Diego. The Padres rallied for two runs in the
ninth inning against Dodgers closer Kenley Jansen, and they had the
bases loaded against right-hander Joe Kelly before Eric Hosmer
grounded out to end it.
"It's going to take awhile to wind down from that one," Bellinger
said. "That's postseason baseball right there."
The Dodgers edged closer to their fourth NLCS in five seasons. The
only one they missed in that stretch was last season, when they lost
in the NLDS to the eventual World Series champion Washington
Nationals.
The Padres took a 1-0 lead for the second consecutive game when Wil
Myers delivered a second-inning RBI double off Kershaw.
The Dodgers went on top in the third inning with Seager's two-run
double. He then scored on a single by Muncy.
Los Angeles increased the lead to 4-1 in the fourth inning when
Bellinger crushed a solo home run to center field.
The Padres stormed back in the sixth when Machado and Hosmer went
back-to-back, cutting the deficit to 4-3. It was the third time in
his career Kershaw gave up back-to-back home runs in the playoffs.
The Padres looked as if they were about to go back on top in the
seventh inning. With Trent Grisham on second base, Tatis hit a
towering fly ball to center against Dodgers reliever Brusdar
Graterol, but Bellinger reached over the center field wall to bring
the drive back into the park and end the threat.
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Dodgers starting pitcher Clayton Kershaw (22) pitches against the
San Diego Padres during the first inning in game two of the 2020
NLDS at Globe Life Field. Mandatory Credit: Kevin Jairaj-USA TODAY
Sports
"In my head, I was like, 'That's gone... or I'm going to get to the
wall and maybe have a chance to catch it,'" Bellinger said. "Just
kinda turned around as fast as I could, got to the fence and saw
that it was robbable, so I just tried to time up the jump. And
that's how it worked out.
"It was a big catch, and I'm just glad that I came up with it."
Graterol threw both his glove and cap in excitement after the out,
with both teams shouting at each other following the half-inning.
The Dodgers subsequently scored twice in the bottom of the seventh,
getting runs on a sacrifice fly from Justin Turner and a bloop
single from Muncy to increase the advantage to 6-3.
The runs were key after the Padres scored twice in the ninth inning
against Jansen on RBI hits from Mitch Moreland and Grisham. Kelly
walked Tatis and Machado before he retired Hosmer for his first
career postseason save.
"The guys battled, laid everything out there," Padres manager Jayce
Tingler said. "To load 'em up there at the end, just great at-bat
after great at-bat. Our guys kept battling and I'm just extremely
proud of them for that. They've been doing it all year, and they've
still got some gas in the tank. They're still going."
Padres starter Zach Davies (0-1) gave up four runs on nine hits over
five innings with no walks and three strikeouts.
--Field Level Media
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