Dodgers sweep way to NLCS
Darvish, Bellinger provide boost to hold off Arizona.
Led by a big Japanese PHOENIX — right-hander and a rookie from just down the road, the Los Angeles Dodgers are headed back to the NL Championship Series.
Cody Bellinger homered, drove in two runs and flipped over a dugout railing to steal an out for a dominant Yu Darvish, helping the Dodgers beat the Arizona Diamondbacks 3-1 Monday night to finish a three-game sweep in their NL Division Series.
“We have a great team,” said Bellinger, a rookie from nearby Chandler, Ariz. “And to come here and sweep them, beat them on their home turf is hard to do and pretty special.”
Darvish, acquired from Texas in a trade deadline deal, struck out seven over five innings to outpitch Zack Greinke and earn the righthander his first postseason victory in three tries.
“Yu’s one of the best pitchers in the world,” said Dodgers catcher Austin Barnes, who also homered. “When he’s on his game, it’s tough for any lineup.”
Four relievers combined to preserve a three-hitter. Kenley Jansen worked around a single by David Peralta for a three-out save, striking out Paul Goldschmidt to end it. Only four Arizona batters reached base, including Daniel Descalso with a homer.
“It was about finishing them off,” Darvish said, “because momentum can go their way.”
The Dodgers, who won 104 games for the best record in baseball and home-field advantage throughout the playoffs, face the winner of the Nationals-Cubs series in the NLCS. Los Angeles fell to World Series champion Chicago last year in the NLCS.
Bellinger hit his homer in the fifth, then made a daring catch to end the bottom of the inning. The first baseman fell into the Dodgers dugout as he snagged Jeff Mathis’ popup, nearly dropping into the lap of manager Dave Roberts.
“I should have been a little quicker to save him,” Roberts said, “but that was a heck of a play.”
Bellinger, 22, is the youngest Dodger to homer in the postseason — he’s 75 days younger than Corey Seager was when he set the mark last fall. Bellinger, who may follow Seager as NL Rookie of the Year, also hit an RBI ground out in the first. Barnes chased Greinke with a leadoff homer in the sixth.