A late single by Cody Bellinger was the difference in a hard-fought pitching matchup between 109-win teams.
Max Scherzer celebrated with teammates after earning the first save of his major league career and helping the Dodgers clinch a spot in the National League Championship Series.Credit...Eric Risberg/Associated Press
SAN FRANCISCO — When the chase was finished and the Los Angeles Dodgers had finally caught the San Francisco Giants, when their blue uniforms were drenched with champagne and their frayed nerves were slowly coming back together, Max Scherzer could only shake his head and marvel.
“It’s crazy,” said Scherzer, who collected the first save of his career while holding on to the Dodgers’ 2-1 Game 5 victory. “Since I’ve been here, I get it. These two cities don’t like each other, these two teams don’t like each other and it’s great to be a part of it.
“That’s what makes sports awesome, when you have two fan bases that don’t like each other, the players respect the hell out of each other, play the game right but just want to beat the crap out of each other.”
The Dodgers galloped through more than six months and 24 games against the Giants, all the way to the last strike of an N.L. division series that had been stretched to its limit. And even at that, the debates and bruised feelings will continue for years.
The last strike? With Kris Bryant on first base, two out and the 42,275 fans stuffed into Oracle Park roaring, Giants first baseman Wilmer Flores started to offer at an 87-mile-per-hour slider. He held up, but plate umpire Doug Eddings appealed to first base umpire Gabe Morales and Morales hoisted his fist for strike three.
The Dodgers leapt over their dugout railing. The Giants saw their season end.
The Dodgers began to celebrate on the field as Wilmer Flores struggled to handle a checked-swing call that had gone against him to end the game.Credit...D. Ross Cameron/USA Today Sports, via Reuters
San Francisco may have ended the Dodgers’ attempt to win a ninth consecutive N.L. West title this summer, but the Dodgers got their revenge. Next stop for Los Angeles: Atlanta, and Game 1 of the N.L. Championship Series, which is scheduled for Saturday night.
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