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by Rowan Kavner
Wilmer Flores sat next to third base with his right leg tucked under him and his left leg extended near the bag, peering toward the outfield in disbelief. The Giants first baseman eventually gathered himself, got to his feet and gave one more look toward right field, seemingly in awe at how Mookie Betts pulled off his latest feat to end the sixth inning Saturday at Oracle Park.
A run-scoring hit dropped in front of Betts, who turned, pivoted and without hesitation delivered a pinpoint throw from right field into Justin Turner’s glove at third base to nab a sliding Flores for the third out of the inning. The latest display of Betts’ brilliance preserved Julio Urías’ comfortable lead among a medley of Dodger defensive gems that helped even the National League Division Series.
“Sometimes you just do things you can’t really explain,” Betts said after the 9–2 win.
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The Dodgers and Giants entered the series with the top two pitching staffs in baseball. The Dodgers held the top ERA and WHIP, while the Giants had the defensive edge by most metrics. They flashed that latter skill on multiple occasions behind starter Logan Webb in Game 1.
It was the Dodgers’ turn to do the same behind their pitchers in Game 2.
Betts, whose captivating defense helped propel the Dodgers back from a 3–1 deficit in last year’s National League Championship Series, again helped his club overcome a playoff hole. While he didn’t make the catch on Brandon Crawford’s single, his alert throw to third base kept the Dodger lead at a comfortable four runs and prevented the inning from snowballing.
“It’s just Mookie being Mookie,” Urías said through a translator. “Obviously when he makes tremendous plays, they’re still spectacular plays to see. But when Mookie does them, it’s a little bit more expected.”
Betts was not alone in backing Urías’ lead after the left-hander’s five innings of work.
One out prior to Betts’ mesmerizing throw, Flores grounded a ball up the middle off reliever Joe Kelly. Second baseman Trea Turner sprinted to the other side of the bag, dove to his right and completed a throw from his knees to secure a force out at second.
An inning later, Turner again took a hit away from a Giants batter with a play on the other side of second base, sliding to his knees and making the throw across the diamond to retire Evan Longoria.
Cody Bellinger described Betts and Trea Turner as “truly special players.”
“And they’re putting it on display,” Bellinger said.
The dynamism was not limited to the Dodgers’ fielders.
Urías, who was 9–0 with a 2.04 ERA after the All-Star break, did more than pitch his way to becoming baseball’s only 20-game winner of the season. He also helped himself out with the bat.
No National League pitcher knocked in more runs this year than Urías, who started the scoring Saturday with an RBI single that appeared to bring life to the Dodger offense.
“It was exciting to get the team going,” Urías said through a translator. “I think they fed off that, a lot of energy after that, and we produced after that.”
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The lone run Urías allowed came on a sacrifice fly to Donovan Solano in the second inning. Urías conceded only one baserunner in his final three innings and now owns a 1.77 ERA over his last 10 starts dating back to the end of his regular season. He hasn’t suffered a loss since June 21.
“I think Julio for a long time now has been kind of underrated, and now people just are giving him his credit,” Betts said. “He’s always been really good. This year, he just was really consistent. I think that’s been the difference.”
The clutch left-hander’s postseason numbers are even more staggering.
Since the start of last year’s playoffs, Urías has a 1.29 ERA with 34 strikeouts and five walks over seven appearances (three starts). And given that he only threw 72 pitches in Game 2, his impact on the NLDS might not be done.
“He’ll be alive later in the series,” Roberts said. “I’m sure.”
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Dynamic Dodger defense supports Julio Urías’ Game 2 win was originally published in Dodger Insider on Medium, where people are continuing the conversation by highlighting and responding to this story.