Cubs at Dodgers., 4:30 PM PT, TV: TBS
Two grizzled lefties have at one another in Game Two: 33-year-old Jon Lester (13-8, 4.33 ERA) for the Cubbies and 37-year-old Rich Hill (12-8, 3.32 ERA) for the Dodgers. Lester is the active leader in postseason innings pitched with 143 1/3. He worked 9 2/3 innings in the NLDS against the Nationals, making one start and giving up only two runs for a 1.86 ERA. He’s 2-3 with a 3.89 ERA in seven career starts against the Dodgers. Hill gave up two runs on three hits in four innings against the D-Backs in Game Two of the NLDS. He’s only faced the Cubs twice in his career, once in 2011 and once last year in Game Three of the NLCS when he went six scoreless innings.
Today in baseball history:
- 1946 In Game 7 of the World Series, the Cardinals beat the Red Sox, 4-3, when Enos Slaughter streaked home from first on Harry Walker’s single. The play surprises everyone, including cut-off man shortstop Johnny Pesky who hesitates, as legend has it, throwing the ball home.
- 1970 Brooks Robinson is selected as the World Series Most Valuable Player after batting .429 (9/21) and driving in six runs during the five-game set against Cincinnati. The Orioles’ third baseman becomes the first player to be named the MVP in the Fall Classic, an All-Star game (1966), and for his league (AL-1964).
- 1988 In his only plate appearance in the Fall Classic, a limping Kirk Gibson, appearing as a pinch-hitter for the Dodgers in the ninth inning of Game 1, sends a two-out, 3-2 back-door slider from the A’s relief ace Dennis Eckersley over the right field fence. It’s the first time a World Series game is ever decided on a come-from-behind home run in the final inning.
Lineup when available.
#ThisTeam // NLCS Game 2:
Taylor CF
Turner 3B
Bellinger 1B
Hernández LF
Forsythe 2B
Barnes C
Puig RF
Culberson SS
Hill P pic.twitter.com/tzYOfnaQmN— Los Angeles Dodgers (@Dodgers) October 15, 2017
NPUT
Joe Posnanski compares the two walkoff HRs.
LA Times story about Turner’s HR.
Dodger ballgirls are Las Vegas shooting survivors.
I am still reverberating inside after last night’s grand finale. What a crazy wonderful way to win. No one wanted to leave the stadium, and when we finally filed out, the crowded aisles and exits were filled with “Let’s go Dodgers,” as people passed each other in opposite directions high-fiving. I was next to my son, and we roared and leapt and hugged and kissed, a peak moment to be sure. I love this team this year. What a gift to get to feel such pure exuberance and share it with my loved ones and my dear friends here, who understand. I woke up grateful this morning. Thanks.
Jon points out that Justin was the only Dodger to start game 2 of the NLCS in 2017 and 2016!
Saw a great tweet on JT’s dinger on the night of Gibby’s blast: “In the year of the possible, the probable happens”
Carlos Beltran is considered to be the best playoff hitter in recent times. In 247 PA he has an OPS of 1.049. Justin with 92 is at 1.194. Carlos at 92 was 1.365.
Dodgers have really kept Bryant quiet . . . hope that continues!
Seems lost. Hill got a swing and miss for a third strike on one of his 90 mph fastballs right down the pipe. Hope it lasts as well, but not counting on it.
Just watched Vinny’s call of Gibby’s shot.
To borrow one of his phrases, how improbable that JT does it on this anniversary!
Hoping that Wade Davis continues to be rested.
Woo-HOO ! ! ! ! !
I had not noticed until I saw the replay, but a fan with a glove caught Turner’s homerun on the fly!
Wearing an Utley shirt. He got the ball to Turner after the game, too.
It was a frustrating game up until that last at bat!
“Oh, those bases on balls.” — mid-20th century baseball manager.
And Puig with soo many, after he would be impatient before.
Note: It was Frankie Frisch, the Fordham Flash, who said that. It seems to have originated when he managed the Pirates during one of their mediocre periods.
Guarantees a return to DS — for this or the WS.
The drat-ness of missed opportunities allowed the clutch 9th.
Dramatic 9th, anyway. I’d just have soon had a five-run lead.
Me, too — but a W by any other name is just as sweet.
That was very rewarding. I am glad I stayed up to watch.
My oh my oh my oh my oh my oh my oh my . . . !
This Team!
Racing for the parking lot last night, a guy said “7 more wins.”
Now 6!
I think we have a winner in the Player of the Game contest!
Absolutely. Bullpen in a close second.
https://youtu.be/qpGx4foRdPw
I don’t know if I would’ve bugged out for the exit or stayed to celebrate!
As Steiner said, on the anniversary of Kirk’s walk-off HR!
First walk off HR since then.
He said that as well — I failed to include that.
holy cow!
Ding dong!
We win!!!
J!!!!!!!!!!~!!!!!!!
We need a hit.
GOT IT!!!!!!!!
Perhaps I should have said something earlier.
C’mon, JT!!
All that for that?
Nice guy to have coming up.
You said it
Puig will be off and running with the pitch.
C’mon, CT!
Cruel game. Farmer not getting it done in very limited ab’s
So time to switch to someone else.
“Jimmy safe at second and Flynn a-hugging third.”
Two walks and Belli at the plate
Maeda up.
Farmer in the Dell time!
Puig hugging second.
He needs to hug home
Deja vu time . . . please!
Who’s in charge?
Bring home the Wild Horse!
Puig, Culberson, Jansen’s spot.
Walk-offs are Ethier’s specialty.
Not in a long time, and not against lefties.
And JTs
No extras — gotta be a walk-off win now!
Win it for RBI!
Win it with a RBI
Cubs swinging at high pitches
Radio said might as well keep giving it if they’re gonna swing.
“Get the K! Get the K! Get the K!”
KK-enley!
Get the K or double play!
Or both! (Strike ’em out, throw ’em out.)
Ouch.
First batter to get on vs. Blue Bullpen this LCS.
K-enley!
What pitchers are left for extra innings?
Maeda?
He only threw about 8 pitches last night.
Plus another Tony and Stripling.
Cubs’ pitching has been very good in this game.
Glad the Cubs are tired.
Which makes Dodger bats tired-er?
Only have three hits themselves.
Tonight we have the bats of September but luckily the pitching of midsummer.
Drat again.
Barnes shuts the door.
C’mon, Kenley, then need a run!
(Running out of pitchers.)
Good job, Joc!
Bring Cody in, Logan!
Hustle and a gift!
Cash it in, Blue!
Bums might sleep through Joc’s appearance!
Got to see the one pitch at bat.
Bellinger, Pederson, Forsyth.
What do we want? Run!
When do we want them? Now!
No bottom of the 9th!
Nicely done, Fields and Watson.
The whole bullpen, both nights!
(Unfortunately, the Cubs can say the same tonight. Hopefully that ends now!)
Let the carousel of pitchers begin.
My phone died so using my son’s. I’ll check in later, when I get home after WE WIN.
At the game w my son and two buddies. So tense! We need a big inning.
You’ve seen some missed chances.
Frustrating!
Dodgers, take note: I am tired of saying “Drat” after missed opportunities.
Drat.
One more time, JT?
C’mon, bats! We don’t want a bottom of the 9th!
Edwards comes in with playoff ERA of 23.11. Seems more like his regular season 2.98 so far.
Just our luck.
He had one terrible outing v. the Nats (gnot the Gnats). He’s good, though.
He had two terrible and one bad.
I’d like to see a big inning that would eliminate the stress factor.
Where’d you go today? Akaka Falls? Rainbow Falls? Lyman Museum?
We drove the Inouye highway and went up to Mauna Kea Visitor Center. Late start because it was pouring rain early. Really cold up there, with possibility of snow tonight.
Nice. I haven’t done that, even in all these years.
Is one of our Bobs there tonight?
Don’t think so.
Not I — last night worked best for me.
I believe RBI is there. I remember she would be there on the anniversary of Gibson’s blast.
That was the day when two of my sibs came to town and the four of us had a photo portrait taken of us to match one from the ’60s — a surprise gift to our parents that year.
Very nice. Obviously memorable. My late father, like I a native of Brooklyn, called me greatly excited. I told him, gently I hope, that I was taping the game, and we spoke later to our mutual happiness.
Nice.
Ha. We used to get Monday Night Football on tape at 6:30 pm, so if you didn’t want to know the score you had to hide from radio newscasts.
Morrow is so… everything good.
Only 8 pitches, so can eat another inning at least.
Good Morrow tonight!
Did anyone else register for the CHANCE for World Series tickets? I’m sure RBI did.
Tomorrow’s supposed to be the day they choose.
Would Puig gone after that one if he were playing CF?
C’mon, Bullpen — shutdown like last night!
Granderson plays LF in place of Kiké, I guess.
He didn’t yesterday.
Today, however… 😉
Granderson and Utley didn’t get the job done.
Granderson was 4 for his last 7 against Lester, but what they didn’t say was how long ago that might have been.
Drat.
Bad AB.
Score in the 5th. Check
Tie the Cubs. Check
Let’s go, Dodgers!
C’mon, Silver Fox — let Rich go out with the lead!
So much for experience and future hall of famers
Chutley up.
Burger King Jr. in to pitch.
Ethier to pinch-hit or Utley?
These bats are made for walking . . . and the opposition takes a hike.
Dre or Grandal?
Hernandez batting fifth does not make sense.
He is batting 4th.
My bad!
Oh baby! JT is the man.
Charlie in the middle of things again . . . shall we say taking charge?
Let’s!
No sorry in that Charlie
He’s not going to supplant Seager, but maybe he can earn another position?
Justin comes through!
Again!
JT!!!!
Simply don’t understand Roberts’ love affair with Granderson. With the exception of the first 10 days after we got him it has been unrequited.
A much quieter crowd tonight.
Bob’s not there.
Ha!
You don’t hear me shouting from Vegas? “JT!!!!!”
I hear you Bob. I hear you. 🙂
I’m wondering if my neighbors do!
If one particular household does, it’s quid pro quo from their rooster crowing every morning.
Can you out crow their rooster?
Dodgers are giving me the chance to try!
My voice is hoarse — should make the two 2-hour talks I’m giving tomorrow interesting!
Stay strong Bob!
Not to trivialize it, but VegasStrong
Let’s see what JT can do.
C’mon, JT — let Hill off the hook!
He hits a lot of fouls down the right field line, before frequently failing.
I have noticed as well.
Grrr.
If Hill cools bunt he might have batted here.
Granderson up.
And down.
But just missed an RBI.
Good ol’ Charlie.
CC with the 2B!
Oh yeah!
Cubs score first via a HR again. Check
Cubs starting pitcher gets a hit again. Check
Dodgers come back and win again…
That worked out. Lester has to run to first and Jay makes the last out on the next pitch.
I figure at some point tonight we either get a tired Lester or a Cubs middle reliever. Or both.
Hill is going to be a 5 inning pitcher tonight
Yes. He’s due up now.
In the words of Link: Drat.
In your words — Now we have them where we want them.
Well said.
Dodgers are more of a 5th inning scoring machine.
We will soon find out.
Last time Puig was thrown out trying to steal Doc benched him.
Let’s go Chuck.
So flukey.
Strong Hill.
Drat.
Oh Sticky.
The win last night was great, but with Arrieta and Hendricks coming up in Chicago, this game is vital. (As is every game in the post-season, he says.)
Always want to hold serve when you have HFA.
Okay, cleanup hitter up.
Guessing you don’t appreciate Quique.
I actually do against a lefty. Just fun to note that he is the cleanup hitter.
Turner coming back into third. Awkward slide.
Cody!
Nice job, D.
Bats — time to wake up!
Plate discipline good and some good wood. The process.
Got it. Want the process to now be the hits! 🙂
Sit the Las Vegan down!
Nice play, Belli!
Shut them down, Rich!
Nice bunt attempt.
He says sarcastically.
Good contact. Just a matter of time before one – or many – hit green. Or outfield seats!
Here’s hoping it’s the Charles in Charge show tonight.
Yes!
He did really well last night!
That theme song is permanently stuck in my head.
Let’s hope CC’s play embeds it in all of ours!
Charlie time.
Radio said Puig has the third-most playoff hits at DS, behind Garvey and Russell.
Wow. That’s impressive.
Dodgers have been in the playoffs 4 or 5 consecutive years and there is now an extra playoff series that didn’t exist, two if a team is a wildcard, when Garvey and Russell played. Still, I have some doubts about Puig’s numbers.
Garvey 63 as a Dodger, Russell 57, all as a Dodger. Puig 25 so far. Lopes had 43, Cey 42. They screwed up or they’re just counting NLDS and NLCS.
They were quoting in the 30’s for the first two — just at Dodger Stadium.
Oh. Well then. Baseball Reference doesn’t break out home and away career postseason hits, I don’t think. Not gonna try. 😉
Garvey and Russell had an extra playoff series in 1981. 🙂
“Yasiel Puig!” was chant there.
I’m repeating it now.
This year – let’s steal against Lester.
Doesn’t sound like Kike is getting a good read.
Two steals against him last year.
In the NLCS? That’s more than I remembered.
Hard to do when runner’s first step is back to first.
Offense started last night with a walk . . . two of ’em!
Rich sounds great.
Simple pleasures: Rich Hill’s post-release hop after some of his pitches.
He looks completely out of control, but then he catches a hard comebacker like he did in the first inning.
Safe?
Nope. So close though.
Wow. Nice catch by Almora.
I didn’t say it out loud, but I called him a name.
Taylor’s 6’1″, 180 while Puig is 6′ 2″ and 250. I know who I’d bet on in a collision. I’m glad it didn’t happen.
Here’s hoping all of Puig’s damage is done to the opposition . . . and continues throughout October!
Mr. Taylor, meet Mr. Puig.
Yikes. Probably should have been Taylor’s to catch since he is the CF. But it all worked out.
Joc’s nick name is now dizzy.
Radio said Puig may’ve had a better angle vis a vis the sun.
Announcers said the same on the tube.
That’s great info that TBS didn’t provide (or I didn’t hear).
Oops I stand corrected. I guess I just missed hearing it.
I tell my wife that all the time.
Yeah that happens at my house too!
I’m sure that was what Puig was thinking.
Let’s go Richie Rich.
I got to meet Johnny Pesky once at Pawtucket Red Sox game. Wonderful man with great stories. I’m not at all a Red Sox fan, but I treasure the ball he signed for me.
I was kind of stunned when Roberts pulled Kershaw last night, so I’m guessing that Hill will have an even shorter leash.
Kersh was struggling every inning and his pitch count was really high.
I know this borders on heresy/treason, but I felt better about LA’s chance when Kersh left. I didn’t realize until I got back to my car and heard the postgame show that the bullpen had shut everyone down (as did Kersh once the HR was hit).
I’m wondering a little about Kershaw’s back and whether he’s fully recovered.
Thinking the same thing . . . this seems to be more than “yips.”
Apart from his pitching, also good opportunity score with PH.
Same batting order for the second consecutive game. Unusual.
Going against another southpaw. What change were you expecting?
Taylor
Barnes
Turner
Bellinger
Puig
Forsythe
Hernandez
Culberson
Hill
This is what you expected, or what you wanted (for this and previous game)?
I think that would be the lineup I would use. Doc won with his already.
Actually, none in particular. Just noting.
Puig was amused by one of the more famous “Don’t flip your bat” screechers: he responded by offering Keith Olbermann a ticket.
The baton is passed back to you, RBI — here’s hoping the spotless playoff record this year continues with EF members, aka Link’s Legions, in attendance!
Did you stay right to the end Bob?
Definitely!
Reminiscent of this site, I started counting down the outs with the guy sitting next to me.
I usually work my way closer to the exit the last inning. Thanks to my “neighbor,” I went down from Reserve to Field Plaza and was by the left field pole when K-enley did his work in the 9th.
Then I sprinted to my car!
This will be another great match up. I hope our offense is up to the task.
Why are there no grizzled righties?
There must be some. Does Lackey qualify? How about Sabathia? Gaylord Perry and the Niekros were grizzled righties.