The Los Angeles Dodgers came back with a vengeance Saturday night against the San Francisco Giants to tie the National League Division Series at one game apiece. Julio Urias opened the scoring in the second inning against the Giants with a single to right field off of the Giants ace Kevin Gausman to score Chris Taylor. Mookie Betts followed Urias with a single to left field to score AJ Pollock.
In the bottom of the second inning, Urias faced Wilmer Flores who seemingly struck out on a 3-2 pitch. But the pitch was called a ball and Flores walked. Urias was great, so this probably would not have mattered much, but Flores ended up at third base with only one out. Then Donovan Solano hit a sacrifice fly to score Flores from third. Then both pitchers settled down and there was no more scoring until the sixth inning.
Gausman was pitching well until the sixth. He left the game in the sixth inning with two men on base and one out. Dominic Leone took over for Gausman and walked the bases loaded immediately. Then he gave up a double to Cody Bellinger that hit off the middle of the left-center wall. This scored two runs and Gausman’s night finished with him allowing four earned runs in 5 1/3 innings. Gausman also gave up four hits and three walks while striking out seven. The Giants twice put pinch hitters into the on-deck circle but ultimately had Gausman bat both times. Before the sixth inning, Gausman was on the verge of having a great night.
Julio Urias left the game after the fifth inning when Gavin Lux pinch-hit for him and grounded out. Urias pitched well, allowing one run on three hits and one walk while striking out five.
Taylor Helps Dodgers Tie Series
The walk-off hero of the Wild Card Game proved to be a better option than Matt Beaty on Saturday for the Dodgers. Matt Beaty got the start at first base in game one while Cody Bellinger was in center field. Taylor spent the night on the bench. Both Bellinger and Beaty did nothing at the plate. On Saturday, it was a different story. Bellinger got the start at first base and Taylor was in center field. Chris Taylor went 2-for-4 with a walk and three runs scored on Saturday. Cody Bellinger went 1-for-4 with a double, two RBI, and a run scored. Beaty pinch-hit and singled in a run. Bellinger and Taylor both made some great plays in the field to go along with their offensive production.
This is not to say that all three of the players would not have hit if Beaty would have started at first base on Saturday. But it’s not always better to have a lefty face a righty. It is sometimes annoying to see Dave Roberts take players out for the rest of the game simply because a reliever with an opposite throwing arm than the batter’s stance comes into the game for one inning. He did this the entire Wild Card Game. He won the game, but he was relying heavily on batters with sub .200 batting averages simply because of the side of the plate on which they stand. Chris Taylor proved to be better than Matt Beaty even though it was a righty on righty situation.
With the series now tied at one, the next game will be in Los Angeles on Monday at 6:37 PM Pacific. Max Scherzer will be facing a Giants pitcher to be determined.
Main Photo:
Embed from Getty Images
Players Mentioned:
Julio Urias, Kevin Gausman, Chris Taylor, Mookie Betts, AJ Pollock, Wilmer Flores, Donovan Solano, Dominic Leone, Cody Bellinger, Gavin Lux, Matt Beaty, Max Scherzer
