Dodgers work the count, bring out the brooms in NLDS
by Rowan Kavner
Yasiel Puig could’ve chased. In years past, he might have. It was far from the most memorable at-bat on a night the Dodgers finished off a sweep of the Diamondbacks in the National League Division Series, but it was the embodiment of why they did.
Puig did a little dance shuffling his feet up and down, displaying his giddiness after holding off a tempting 1–2 slider from Zack Greinke in the first inning. The at-bat didn’t end in a home run or an extra-base hit. It didn’t result in a hit at all, as Puig would eventually send a rocket to center field that was caught.
And yet, in working a 10-pitch at-bat instead of chasing early, it demonstrated exactly the kind of discipline manager Dave Roberts knew the Dodgers would need against Greinke in order to leave Arizona with their first NLDS sweep since 2009, which they did after a 3–1 win in Monday night’s Game 3.
“If you try to go out there and slug (Greinke), you’re going to have a tough time,” Roberts said before the night. “He’s just a heck of a pitcher, and works all quadrants. So, I think he doesn’t make a whole lot of mistakes, but you have to try to get that pitch count up and trust to go deep in the count and take advantage of a potential mistake.”
In other words, treat Greinke similarly to the way they did Robbie Ray one game prior, when they forced Arizona’s Game 2 starter out after four walks in 4 1/3 innings. Once again, patience paid off, as Puig’s persistent at-bat was one of many in a Dodger lineup that forced yet another Arizona starting pitcher to labor.
The Diamondbacks’ starting pitchers entered the postseason in the top three in the NL in ERA, WHIP and wins. But in three NLDS games, they allowed 11 runs and 11 walks in 10 1/3 innings pitched.
From the first at-bat of the game Monday, when Chris Taylor worked a 3–2 count before ripping a double to left field, the Dodgers kept fighting Greinke off to put together quality at-bat after quality at-bat.
Taylor’s full-count double was followed by a Corey Seager full-count walk. Five of the first eight Dodger batters worked full counts. The first time through the lineup, six Dodger batters worked an at-bat of six pitches or more, raising Greinke’s pitch count to 54 after just two innings.
“I think that’s the way our offense ticks,” said Justin Turner. “When we’re seeing a lot of pitches and taking our walks and getting guys on base, that’s when our offense is at its best.”
The patience led to plenty of baserunners, though the Dodgers went hitless with runners in scoring position. To win, they’d need a couple things beyond patience— more power than they demonstrated in their first two games, and more of what Darvish demonstrated in his last three regular season games, during which he allowed one earned run in 19 1/3 innings.
They got both.
After hitting one home run in their first two NLDS games, the Dodgers hit two solo shots Monday, receiving the first career postseason home runs from Cody Bellinger and Austin Barnes.
Bellinger did it all in his hometown Arizona, bouncing back from a 1-for-10 start to the playoffs and bouncing over the Dodger dugout railing to finish the job. In addition to his home run — his second of the year against Greinke — the Dodger first baseman provided pristine defense, diving to his right to snag a grounder and making the highlight play of the day going head over heels falling into the Dodger dugout to catch a pop-up.
“I should have been a little bit quicker to save him, but it was a heck of a play going (over) the rail,” Roberts said. “That was a big out.”
While Greinke struggled to put Dodger batters away, Darvish had no problem getting Arizona hitters guessing before sending them back to the dugout. He brought the gas, with a fastball eclipsing 97 mph, to go along with secondary pitches which continued to keep Arizona hitters off balance.
In his third career postseason start and first with the Dodgers, Darvish picked up his first career playoff win, striking out seven and walking none in five innings before the Dodger bullpen preserved the victory.
“Yu really stepped up huge for us,” Roberts said. “He was in command and control from the first pitch.”
After Darvish left when he hit a batter to start the sixth, Tony Cingrani, Brandon Morrow and Kenta Maeda combined for three perfect innings, before handing the ball to Kenley Jansen, who allowed a baserunner and nothing more, striking out Paul Goldschmidt to punch the Dodgers’ ticket to the National League Championship Series for a second straight year.
The only question that remains is which team they’ll see when they get there.
The way the Dodgers are playing, they don’t seem to care.
“We have the right guys,” Bellinger said. “Washington or Chicago, they’re great teams. It’s going to be a great series.”
