Diamonds For Women

[dodgerblue6]

Game 1 gets underway at Dodger Stadium tonight!
_________________
"The Dodgers have always occupied an enormous place in the history of the game. If the Yankees are the most successful team in baseball history, the Dodgers are the most essential. Their legacy is unique."

-Baseball Hall of Fame

[forloveofthegame]

I will simply say, good luck to your team. I would not mind seeing Rockies and Dodgers in an all NLW NLCS.
_________________
"Baseball is an allegorical play about America, a poetic, complex, and subtle play of courage, fear, good luck, mistakes, patience about fate, and sober self-esteem." - Saul Steinberg

[dodgerblue6]

Well, thank you! That worked.

Strangely, although the Dodgers won Game 1, 6-0, they were also outhit by the Braves, 6-5. Ryu set the tone with an awesome performance, pitching seven strong innings and leaving to a standing ovation by none other than Sandy in the crowd of over 50,000. I seriously got chills watching that, and tears welled up in my eyes. Dodgers royalty!

Braves starting pitcher Mike Foltynewicz struggled early, and left after two innings. The Dodgers' scoring consisted of three home runs--Joc with a solo shot leading off the bottom of the first, Mad Max with a three-run shot in the second, and Kike with a solo blast in the sixth. They tacked on a sac fly by David Freese in the eighth just for added insurance.

Much ado was made about Doc's decision to slot Ryu to start Game 1, something that's typically been Clayton's place for the last several years. But it paid off handsomely. CK knows, and has stated to the media, that he "doesn't have to prove himself" to anyone.

But if he matches that kind of start tonight in Game 2, it will be very difficult for the Braves to recover.
_________________
"The Dodgers have always occupied an enormous place in the history of the game. If the Yankees are the most successful team in baseball history, the Dodgers are the most essential. Their legacy is unique."

-Baseball Hall of Fame

[forloveofthegame]

Very dominant game for Ryu. One thing I have heard being talked about all day is why Kershaw did not start Game 1. I have heard where he said he accepted their reasons for starting Ryu but do you think he is upset about it? Maybe he was just saying the right thing and feeling hurt inside.
_________________
"Baseball is an allegorical play about America, a poetic, complex, and subtle play of courage, fear, good luck, mistakes, patience about fate, and sober self-esteem." - Saul Steinberg

[dodgerblue6]

If it does, indeed, motivate him enough to take it out on the Braves, I would be quite happy. And if that were the case, I'd say kudos to Doc for that brilliant strategy!

We'll see what happens in a couple of hours.
_________________
"The Dodgers have always occupied an enormous place in the history of the game. If the Yankees are the most successful team in baseball history, the Dodgers are the most essential. Their legacy is unique."

-Baseball Hall of Fame

[dodgerblue6]

Wooooooohoooooooooo! Dodgers win the series and move on!

Clayton did indeed handle the Braves masterfully in Game 2 at Dodger Stadium, 3-0, marking back-to-back shutouts for Dodgers starting pitchers to start the series--the first time such an event has occurred in the postseason since the 1921 Yankees did it. Not only did CK step it up a notch, going eight innings, but KJ was able to get three outs in the ninth without any damage. Using him sparingly, with fans holding their breath each outing, may be the only way to get this done, even if it means other relievers stepping up out of their regular roles. Again, the Dodgers' offense relied exclusively on the longball, scoring all three runs on two round trippers, one by Manny, the other by Yas.

After leaving L.A., the Dodgers spent an interesting two days in Atlanta. Game 3 took place at SunTrust Park on Sunday night, with Bison making his return to the city he left for the first time in the postseason. With Walker Buehler on the mound, it was hard for Dodger fans not to feel confident that the unfazed young man would help his team put the final nail in the Braves' coffin.

Walker did get a bit shaken, losing his control in the second, and eventually surrendering a grand slam to Ronald Acuna Jr. Down 5-0 early, the Dodgers scratched and clawed back to tie the score at 5 in the fifth. Cincos wild! For L.A., CT3 and Mad Max contributed home runs to cut the lead. Braves starting pitcher Sean Newcomb, who nearly no-hit the Dodgers in late July in this very ballpark, didn't get out of the third inning in this one; he was followed by Kevin Gausman and five Atlanta relievers. On the hill for the Dodgers, Buehler regained his form and hung tough through five, then handed the game over to Madera in the sixth. That's when the Braves re-took the lead, and didn't look back, winning, 6-5.

Game 4, played today, featured Rich Hill taking the ball for L.A. and Foltynewicz, who had started Game 1, starting for Atlanta. But for the Dodgers, it will always be remembered as the day Manny stepped up to be the Manny the team had traded for in July. His two home runs led the Dodgers to a 6-2 win, with Ryan Madson picking up the victory thanks to a pinch-hit single by Freese that broke what was then a 2-2 tie in the sixth. Manny's second blast of the day, a three-run shot, followed in the seventh. Jonny Venters was tagged with the loss for the Braves, who would be sent home for the offseason as the Dodgers celebrated with champagne in the SunTrust locker room.

They'll come back to L.A. for workouts for a couple of days, then fly to Milwaukee for the start of the NLCS this Friday. Three days off, two at home, will definitely be appreciated.

Congratulations to the boys in blue!
_________________
"The Dodgers have always occupied an enormous place in the history of the game. If the Yankees are the most successful team in baseball history, the Dodgers are the most essential. Their legacy is unique."

-Baseball Hall of Fame

[sunnyblue]

I'm so happy, although I had my concerns when they struggled to score runs early in the game. But Rich pitched pretty well even if he didn't go deep. Pedro Baez has been doing really well, too.

This means Clayton can pitch in Game 1 instead of at home in Game 5 of this series of it had to be played. They did themselves a favor.

Congratulations to our Dodgers!

[forloveofthegame]

Congratulations, Dodgers.
_________________
"Baseball is an allegorical play about America, a poetic, complex, and subtle play of courage, fear, good luck, mistakes, patience about fate, and sober self-esteem." - Saul Steinberg