LOS ANGELES —The Los Angeles Dodgers popped some champagne Thursday night, chugged Bud Lights and hugged one another while half-dressed.
But as far as celebrations go, well, there may have been more jubilation at a senior citizen bingo parlor than the Dodgers’ National League Division Series clinching party.
The Dodgers felt more relief on this night, surviving a heavyweight bout against the Philadelphia Phillies with an epic 2-1, 11-inning victory, winning the National League Division Series, three games to one.
Really, the Dodgers will tell you after a brief party in their indoor batting cage, so not to mess up their fancy new clubhouse, they were simply too exhausted to properly celebrate.
They can do that in the next round, knowing that another series victory will provide a return trip to the World Series.
And, if they win the World Series again, becoming the first NL team to pull it off since the Cincinnati Reds’ Big Red Machine in 1975-76, then you’ll see a bash that will make Hollywood envious.
But for now, they just wanted to chill, soaking in the moment, believing that by surviving this grueling series, they can beat anyone coming their way.
“It was a war,’ Dodgers manager Dave Roberts said. “It was a battle. It was an instant classic.’
It may take years for the Dodgers to fully appreciate what they just accomplished, but on this night, their heads were still spinning.
“I don’t know where that ranks being part of a game like that, but it definitely ranks up there,’ Dodgers third baseman Max Muncy said. “Extra innings at home, against a really, really good team. Great pitching. Both teams playing like there is no tomorrow.
“And for it to end on a throwing error with their pitcher throwing back to home plate, man, that’s just crazy.’
It was only an elimination game for the Phillies, but the Dodgers will tell you it felt like a Game 7 to them.
“You definitely don’t want to go back to Philly,’ Muncy said. “You know it’s a very, very hostile environment. You don’t want to mess with that. You don’t want to make that flight.’
The two teams spent 3 ½ hours trading punches and left it all out on the field. Starters, Tyler Glasnow and Cristopher Sanchez pitched six shutout innings apiece, giving up just three hits. The Dodgers turned to rookie Roki Sasaki who pitched three perfect innings in one of the greatest relief performances in Dodger postseason history. The Phillies went to starter Jesus Luzardo, who hadn’t pitched in relief in four years, to get five outs.
The biggest stars were shut down with the Dodgers’ quartet of Shohei Ohtani, Mookie Betts, Freddie Freeman and Teoscar Hernandez going 3-for-18 with seven strikeouts, while Trea Turner, Kyle Schwarber and Bryce Harper went 1-for-14 with four strikeouts.
Roberts was second-guessed why he took out Glasnow after six innings – with the Phillies immediately scoring a run – and Phillies manager Rob Thomson was questioned for intentionally walking Ohtani, who was 1-for-18 with nine strikeouts in the series to face Mookie Betts – who drew a bases-loaded walk to tie the game.
And it ended on a gaffe that had the Dodgers sharing their sympathy for Phillies reliever Orion Kerkering.
“It’s brutal,’ Roberts said. “He’s done it a thousand times. And right there he was so focused, I’m sure, on just getting the hitter. [He] just sort of forgot the outs and the situation.’
The bases were loaded with two outs. Andy Pages, the Dodgers’ No. 9 hitter who was 1-for-24 in the series, was jammed and broke his bat on a 96.2-mph fastball. It bounced back to Kerkering, who fumbled the ball and then picked it up with his bare hand.
“I was just so mad at myself,’ Pages said, who was still 55 feet away from first base when Kerkering picked up the ball. “I saw him grab it and then watched him throw it. But I couldn’t believe he didn’t throw it to first base.’
Neither could anyone else at Dodger Stadium.
While Phillies catcher J.T. Realmuto pointed towards first base, and Pages barely more than halfway down the line, panic set in. Kerkering fired it home, Realmuto. Even if the throw was a perfect strike, it was going to be too late to get pinch-runner Hyeseong Kim at the plate.
“I ran for my life,’ Kim said.
While the ball rolled to the backstop, the Dodgers rushed onto the field still trying to comprehend exactly what happened.
“Once the pressure got to me,’ Kerkering said, “I just thought there’s a faster throw to J.T., a little quicker throw than trying to cross-body it to (first base). So just a horse-(expletive) throw.
“It’s baseball.
“[Stuff] happens.’
Said Thomson: “He just got caught up in the moment a little bit,’ Thomson said. “I feel for him because he’s putting it all on his shoulders. But we win as a team, and we lose as a team.’
The Dodgers were in disbelief.
“Pure joy, a little bit of laughter,’ Muncy said, “because I wasn’t sure what happened. The way everyone was standing around I thought it was a foul ball at first. But then it just turned into pure joy.’
But even in the middle of their clubhouse celebration, they talked in subdued tones about the blunder, thrilled that they won the game – but wanting to express their empathy for Kerkering.
“You feel bad,’ Dodgers infielder Miguel Rojas said, “but at the end of the day, you know you can be that guy because you play in a sport. It’s part of baseball. It happens.
“I was talking to Freddie [Freeman] about that, and we both talked about how bad that would feel. He’s got to wait until next year to flush it out.’
But that’s the Phillies’ problem, with Thomson being asked about his job security at the end of the night.
“It’s out of my control, I’m not even thinking about it,’ Thomson says. “I’ve got 60 people in there that are broken-hearted right now. So, I’m thinking about that more so than my job right now. …
“When this happens, it’s like your entire world comes to a stop. It’s just a thud.’
For the Dodgers, they’re thinking about getting that second ring while awaiting the winner of the Chicago Cubs-Milwaukee Brewers series, where they will be a heavy favorite.
If the Dodgers weren’t formidable enough before this series, they’ve become a beast with Glasnow not only proving he can pitch under postseason pressure but debuting a lights-out closer who solved their ninth-inning woes.
Sasaki was nothing short of sensational.
Nine up, nine down.
Thirty-six pitches, 26 strikes.
“Oh my gosh, you’re talking about one of the great all-time appearances out of the pen that I can remember,’ Roberts said. “I can’t speak enough to his growth and his contribution to this club. We’re starting to see something really special in him…
“What he’s done now on the biggest of stages, he’s just scratching the surface. We couldn’t be more proud of him.’
Roberts had no intention of using Sasaki for three innings, but he was so dominant and so efficient, he kept running him out there. One mistake, and the game could be over, with the Dodgers packing their bags for Philadelphia.
But he mowed them down in the eighth. Again in the ninth. And in the 10th. He could have gone on if Roberts permitted it.
“It’s part of the Japanese culture, the toughness,’ Roberts said. “He’s been a star his entire life. And I just felt that in that moment, in the ninth inning, he was the best option right there to keep this game going.
“The toughness is certainly there, and he’s embracing it.’
It’s hard to believe this was the same guy who looked lost all summer. Sasaki, who was the most sought-after free agent on the market since the cost would be only what a team had left in its international signing pool. In the Dodgers’ case, it was just $6.5 million.
Sasaki opened the season by making eight starts, yielding a 4.72 ERA, and only twice did he last more than five innings. The 100-mph fastball that was showcased in Japan was gone, with his velocity dropping by about 5 mph. He went on the injured list with shoulder fatigue, struggled in the minors, and then let the Dodgers overhaul his pitching mechanics.
He returned in late September, agreed to a bullpen role, and looked good enough in two relief appearances to make the postseason roster.
Now, after what he has done in the postseason, allowing just one hit in 5 ⅓ innings, he looks like the second coming of Mariano Rivera.
“Just felt like my fastball velo was back to where it used to be,’ Sasaki said, “and the command of the fastball was where I wanted it to be as well. So, I think that really helps with the off-speed. And because of that I do really feel confident to be able to attack in zone.’
Sasaki’s dominance has everyone in the Dodgers feeling confident that they once again are the team to beat, knowing already that their rotation is the best in baseball with Ohtani, Blake Snell and Yoshinobu Yamamoto.
“It was incredible,’ said Glasnow, who grew up in the Los Angeles area, and dreamed of pitching in the playoffs for the Dodgers. “I think for what he went through in the beginning of the year, to come back, go to Triple-A, and then come out and throw some of the nastiest innings I’ve seen in baseball. It just shows how strong he is, how much of a competitor he is.
“Didn’t seem like anything fazed him. He was throwing strikes, super aggressive. It’s extremely impressive. We’ll need him for the rest of the season.’
The Dodgers, after going 5-1 this postseason, have begun the countdown.
Eight more victories, and they are World Series champions again, for the third time in six years.
“It feels great, but we know we have a lot of baseball to be played,’ the Dodgers’ Enrique Hernandez said. Our goal is to win the World Series. The goal is not to win the NLDS.’
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This post appeared first on USA TODAY
