The Dodgers flipped the script entirely in Game 2 of the NLDS on Saturday night, this time using patience at the plate and some timely hitting to cruise to a 9-2 victory over the Giants.
Tied at one game apiece, the series moves to Los Angeles on Monday where the Dodgers will start Max Scherzer in Game 3.
Just like we discussed earlier in the day, the Los Angeles offense woke up with Julio Urias on the mound, who garnered the most run support this year in Major League Baseball.
Part of that run support comes from Urias himself. In the regular season, Urias slashed .203/.217/.237 with a pair of doubles and nine RBI. On Saturday night, he was part of the early flurry that put the Dodgers out in front early.
After a Will Smith line out, Chris Taylor doubled in what was his first AB of the NLDS. Cody Bellinger struck out, but the Giants decided to intentionally walk AJ Pollock to face Urias, who promptly singled to right field, driving in the first run of the game. Mookie Betts followed with a single to left to plate Pollock and give Los Angeles an early 2-0 lead.
The Giants got right back into the game in the bottom half of the inning when Wilmer Flores sored on an Evan Longoria sacrifice fly to center field. From that point, both pitchers settled down and cruised through the fifth inning.
San Francisco starter Kevin Gausman ran into trouble in the top of the sixth after Trea Turner led off the inning with a double and Smith walked one batter later. Righty reliever Dominic Leone, who shut down the Dodgers all year, replaced Gausman and walked Taylor to load the bases.
Next, Bellinger drove a double to deep center, in what was surely the biggest hit of his 2021 campaign, to score both TTurner and Smith. The pitch was on the outer half of the plate, but Bellinger went with it instead of trying to pull it and drive it, like we’ve seen him try to do so much this year without success.
Bellinger’s double made the score 4-1, and AJ Pollock, who has been mired in a postseason slump his whole career, smacked a double of his own to plate both Taylor and Bellinger, stretching the lead to 6-1.
Joe Kelly placed Urias in the sixth and ran into a bit of a jam after allowing a leadoff walk to LaMonte Wade and a subsequent single to Buster Posey. Wade eventually scored on a Brandon Crawford single, but the inning ended when Flores tried to advance one base too many on the play and was gunned down at third by Betts.
Relievers Corey Knebel and Brusdar Graterol were perfect in the seventh and eighth innings, respectively. Phil Bickford held down the fort in the ninth to seal the win.
Smith added a solo shot in the eighth off righty Zack Littell to extend the lead to 7-2. Later in the frame, Matt Beaty and Corey Seager added RBI singles to provide two additional insurance runs.
After going a combined 2-for-25 in the Wild Card and NLDS Game 1, the bottom-third of the Los Angeles lineup went 7-for-13 in Saturday’s victory.
In the postgame, San Francisco skipper Gabe Kapler stated that he will start former Dodger lefty Alex Wood in Game 3.
Monday’s first pitch is slated for 6:37 p.m. Pacific.