Dodgers Flex Their Limitless Depth with Chris Taylor’s Hollywood Ending vs. Playing cards

It would per chance well maybe had been a heck of a myth if Albert Pujols had delivered the substantial hit to sink the very crew with which he started his Corridor of Popularity profession in the National League Wild Card Sport.

As an different, it used to be Chris Taylor. Now not that the Los Angeles Dodgers are complaining.

As a type of ongoing punishment for the tear that followed his first All-Star different in July, Taylor started Wednesday’s attain-or-die tilt against the St. Louis Cardinals on the bench. However supervisor Dave Roberts called his name for defensive obligation in left field in the seventh inning, and he did not cross over his likelihood to tag his brand offensively two innings later.

With two outs and Cody Bellinger at second depraved, Taylor cranked a striking Alex Reyes slider at 110.7 mph and with ok length to definite the left-field fence. Adore that, his spin-off two-bustle home bustle delivered the Dodgers a 3-1 victory and despatched the 53,193 fans packed into Dodger Stadium into an voice frenzy:

The prefer used to be the Dodgers’ 107th of 2021, and it secured a postseason matchup the likes of which has by no method sooner than been viewed in Predominant League Baseball.

Dodgers Avid gamers of the Sport

• LF Chris Taylor: 1-for-2, 1 HR, 1 R, 2 RBI. In two words, detect above. In a single observe, duh.
• 3B Justin Turner: 1-for-4, 1 HR, 1 R, 1 RBI. It did not pick the game, nonetheless his solo home bustle in the fourth knotted the gain at 1-1.
• CF Cody Bellinger: 1-for-2, 2 BB, 1 R, 2 SB. The 2019 NL MVP had about a of doubtlessly the most attention-grabbing at-bats of any hitter on both crew and even stole two baggage against Yadier Molina.
• Dodgers relievers: 4.2 IP, 2 H, 1 BB, 0 R, 6 Okay. The Dodgers absolutely did not conception on three-time Cy Younger Award winner Max Scherzer lasting most effective 4.1 innings, nonetheless the five relievers who followed him extra than picked up the slack. 

Cardinals Avid gamers of the Sport

• SP Adam Wainwright: 5.1 IP, 4 H, 2 BB, 1 R, 5 Okay. This wasn’t  his signature postseason second, nonetheless outpitching Scherzer with a gutsy performance used to be a great cap on an illustrious throwback year for the 40-year-extinct hurler.
• 2B Tommy Edman: 3-for-5, 1 R, 2 SB. He used to be in most cases doubtlessly the most attention-grabbing Cardinals hitter who had an true night offensively, and he furthermore shined on the assorted facet of the ball with a slick play up the middle in the second and a key double play in the third.

As They Have Been All Season, the Dodgers Merely Kept Coming

When you most effective knew regarding the a gigantic sequence of objects the Dodgers contain misplaced all the diagram thru the path of 2021, it’s possible you’ll well maybe justifiably pause that they’re lucky to be the place they are only now.

What used to be a critical person-laden starting rotation first and major of the season is now with out rising critical person Dustin Could maybe well per chance furthermore merely (Tommy John surgical scheme) and three-time Cy Younger Award winner Clayton Kershaw (forearm) thanks to injuries. Trevor Bauer, a Cy Younger Award winner in his maintain merely, has been on administrative leave since he used to be accused of sexual assault in June.

Lineup-wise, Corey Seager missed extra special of the season with a broken hand, and now Max Muncy is out with an elbow injury. Two years removed from winning the NL MVP, Bellinger has furthermore battled injuries and made replacement-stage gamers blush when he used to be wholesome. Mookie Betts, a fellow MVP, and Taylor had been precise now and then nonetheless performed chilly.

And yet, the Dodgers no longer most effective survived nonetheless thrived as they tied their club insist for wins and paced all teams this year with a plus-269 bustle differential.

The willingness of their front situation of business to spin all-in on a deal for Scherzer and Trea Turner sooner than the July 30 alternate closing date is a substantial reason why, nonetheless there’ll not be any better time than now to portion in Wainwright’s appreciation of moral how extra special Roberts has to work with:

Amongst the relaxation playoff teams, most effective Atlanta and the Milwaukee Brewers had extra guys defend stop as many as 30 plate appearances all the diagram thru the everyday season. The Dodgers pulled liberally from that depth to consist of 16 situation gamers on their roster for the Wild Card Sport, and Taylor used to be nonetheless one of six of those that obtained deployed off the bench. 

Certain, that technically contains Gavin Lux, even supposing he did not if truth be told accumulate to hit after he used to be announced as a pinch-hitter to lead off the ninth.

Roberts pulled him abet in need of Pujols to accumulate a merely-on-left matchup against T.J. McFarland. It used to be an true call that moral missed paying off in dramatic vogue when Pujols, who used to be pretty precise in blue after the Dodgers picked him up off the scrap heap following his delivery from the Los Angeles Angels, hit a 106.6 mph line pressure that chanced on Harrison Bader’s glove.

When Taylor came to the plate, he most effective had eight hits in his closing 73 at-bats dating abet to Aug. 27. However given that he’s been an true hitter in every of the closing five years, it used to be most effective a matter of time sooner than he all true now met one. And he did.

To the extent that any component of the Dodgers can ever be a secret weapon, their bullpen used to be indeed a type of down the stretch. It paced MLB with a 2.42 ERA after the closing date, in fraction attributable to ERAs in the 1.00s from Kenley Jansen, Blake Treinen and Corey Knebel. 

Despite the indisputable fact that Roberts furthermore pushed the merely buttons with Joe Kelly and Brusdar Graterol in the fifth and sixth innings, it used to be that trio that obtained the highest-leverage assignments on Wednesday. Every obtained their laughs, nonetheless Jansen obtained the closing and doubtlessly the most attention-grabbing with a strikeout of Tyler O’Neill to strand Edman at second depraved in the ninth:

Maybe even extra so than what the Dodgers did merely, the staunch myth right here would per chance well maybe be what the Cardinals did horrid. Particularly, spin 0-for-11 with runners in scoring situation after nabbing their one and most effective bustle on a wild pitch by Scherzer in the first inning.

However, the Redbirds’ myth is over now. It did contain that one wild chapter all the diagram thru which they won 17 in a row and 21 out of their closing 25 games, nonetheless they moral weren’t precise enough to dangle with the substantial boys on both facet of it.

The Dodgers, in the period in-between, are on to face per chance doubtlessly the most attention-grabbing test they’re going to per chance face this October.

What’s Subsequent for the Dodgers

Near Friday night, the Dodgers will defend stop on the San Francisco Giants at Oracle Park in Sport 1 of the National League Division Sequence.

This would well maybe also very successfully be the first-ever postseason assembly between the 2 longtime rivals. And as current by MLB.com’s Sarah Langs, the circumstances are phenomenal even on high of that:

If the Dodgers defeat the Giants, or no longer it’s anxious to maintain it coming with out problems. Neither Muncy nor Kershaw is walking thru that door any time rapidly, and the Dodgers can rightfully be worried about Scherzer after his flop against the Cardinals made it three rotten begins in a row for him.

For now, though, these worries can wait. The Dodgers can relaxation easy merely luminous they’re restful alive and that the bottom of their obtain of tricks hasn’t yet been chanced on.

Stats courtesy of Baseball Reference, FanGraphs and Baseball Savant.