Cody Bellinger singled in Justin Turner with the tie-breaking run in the ninth inning as the Los Angeles Dodgers defeated the San Francisco Giants, 2-1, Thursday evening to win their National League Division Series three games to two.
Turner was hit by pitch from Camilo Doval with one out. The next batter, Gavin Lux, singled Turner to second. Bellinger followed with the tie-breaking single.
The win advances the Dodgers to the National League Championship Series for the fifth time in six seasons, where they will face the NL East champion Atlanta Braves, in a rematch of the 2020 NLCS, won by the Dodgers in seven games, overcoming a three games to one deficit.
The series is scheduled to begin Saturday at Truist Park in Cumberland, Georgia.
Even though the Dodgers had a better regular-season record than the Braves, going 106-56 while Atlanta was 88-73, the Braves will the home-field advantage in the NLCS because they won their division.
Kenley Jansen, the fifth of six Dodger pitchers, pitched a perfect eighth, striking out the final two batters, for the victory.
Max Scherzer pitch the ninth and recorded his first professional save.
Kris Bryant reached first on a one-out fielding error by Turner, the Dodgers’ third baseman. Scherzer struck out pinch-hitter LaMonte Wade for the second out.
First base umpire Gabe Morales ruled that Wilmer Flores swung on a 0-2 slider for the strikeout to end the game.
Scherzer was pitching in relief for the first time since Game 2 of the National League Division Series when he struck out all three batters he faced in the Washington Nationals’ 4-2 victory over the Dodgers.
Doval, the third of four Giants pitchers, was charged with the loss.
The Dodgers opened the scoring in the sixth when Corey Seager doubled in Mookie Betts, who had singled and stole second.
San Francisco tied the score in the bottom of the sixth when leadoff hitter Darin Ruf hit Julio Urías’ full-count four-seam fastball 452 feet over the center field fence, the longest home run in the postseason, according to Statcast.
Betts went 4-for-4 as the Dodgers out-hit the Giants, 8-6, before a crowd announced at 42,275 in Oracle Park in San Francisco.
In a surprise move announced just hours before game time, the Dodgers abruptly switched starting pitchers.
Instead of going with left-hander Julio Urías — Major League Baseball’s winningest pitcher this season with 20 victories — the team announced that right-hander Corey Knebel would start the game.
When asked at his pregame news conference what led to the decision, Dodgers manager Dave Roberts said, “It’s more of appreciating in one game what we feel gives us the best chance to win. Corey’s a guy that I expected to pitch tonight and so just kind of changing up when he pitches is part of it.
“The Giants have been a tremendous ball club all year, and just speaking to the offensive side, they have been the best team in baseball as far as getting matchup advantages, platoon advantages.
“This allows us to, a little bit, get a neutral pitcher who’s done it, who’s had success, who’s all-in on doing it, and potentially giving us some matchups going forward throughout the game.”
Roberts said “from all the way to the tippy top of the Dodgers’ organization on down, it was a decision that we all made together.”
Roberts said that if either Urías or Knebel “felt uncomfortable in any way, we wouldn’t do this.”
Urías and Knebel were informed of the decision Wednesday afternoon, Roberts said.
Roberts said Urías was “all in on” pitching in relief.
“He’s done it in the past, last year in particular, where he thrived,” Roberts said.
Urías had most recently pitched in relief in the sixth and final game of the 2020 World Series, pitching 2 1/3 hitless innings, striking out four and earning the save in the Dodgers’ title-clinching 3-1 victory.
Knebel started four games in the regular season, including a Sept. 3 tilt with the Giants, pitching two shutout innings in a 3-2 loss.
Roberts said he texted Giants manager Gabe Kapler Wednesday evening about the change.
Kapler called the change “understandable.”
“I don’t think it was unexpected,” Kapler said. “Certainly changes the way we were thinking about today’s game, but nothing out of the ordinary.”
Knebel allowed a two-out double to Buster Posey, then struck out the next batter, Brandon Crawford, to end the first.
Bryant and Flores singled off the second Dodger pitcher, Brusdar Graterol, who then induced Evan Longoria to pop out and struck out pitcher Logan Webb to end the inning.
Urías entered the game in the third and pitched four innings, allowing one run and three hits, striking out five and walking one.
Webb, the San Francisco starter, allowed one run and four hits over seven innings, striking out seven and walking one.
The loss was the Giants’ second in Webb’s last 22 starts.
Another piece of history is against the Dodgers. In the 43 division series that were tied after two games, the team that won Game 3 went on to win the series 32 times. The Dodgers lost Game 3 1-0 Monday.
Legendary retired Dodger broadcaster Vin Scully tweeted, “To my knowledge, tonight’s game between the @Dodgers and @SFGiants is the most important game in the history of their rivalry. With nearly identical records, and so much at stake, I believe this to be the case.
“Many of you might consider the 1951 game for the NL pennant to be bigger. Perhaps, but that was more about the greatest moment with Bobby Thomson’s game-winning home run.”
Scully was in his second season as a Dodger broadcaster in 1951. He was standing behind Dodger broadcaster Red Barber when Thompson hit a three-run home run to give the New York Giants a 5-4 victory over the Brooklyn Dodgers and a two games to one victory in their playoff for the National League pennant.
Scully tweeted the he had “one prayer for tonight’s game.”
“However it’s decided, I hope there’s no goat, no single player to shoulder the blame for a loss like Bill Buckner in the 1986 series between the @RedSox and @Mets.”
In a game Scully called for NBC, Mookie Wilson’s ground ball went through the legs of Buckner, the Boston first baseman, and into right field, driving in Ray Knight from second base for the tie-breaking run in the Mets’ 6-5 victory, tying the series at three games a piece. New York defeated the Red Sox, 8-5, in Game 7 for the championship.