Smith, Seager homers help keep L.A. alive
ARLINGTON — Dodgers catcher Will Smith hit a goahead three-run homer off the Atlanta reliever with the same name, Corey Seager homered twice and Los Angeles avoided elimination with a 7-3 win over the Braves in Game 5 of the National League Championship Series on Friday night.
Smith connected in the sixth against — of all people — Will Smith, the fourth of six Braves pitchers in their bullpen night that started with a couple of postseason firsts by A. J. Minter.
“For him to come through for us in that spot, I’m happy to see him expressing himself,” Dodgers right fielder Mookie Betts said of L.A.’s Will Smith.
It was the first time since at least 1961 that a batter homered off a pitcher with the same name in the regular season or postseason, according to the Elias Sports Bureau.
Game 6 is Saturday afternoon, with a pitching rematch from the series opener: lefty Max Fried for
the Braves and righthander Walker Buehler for the Dodgers.
Blake Treinen, the third of seven Dodgers pitchers and the Game 1 loser in relief, pitched two perfect innings for the win. Inconsistent closer Kenley Jansen struck out the side in a nonsave situation to end it.
The Dodgers extended their lead in the seventh
when Chris Taylor hit a two-out double, and scored on a single by Betts before Seager hit a ball into LA’s bullpen in right-center.
Seager’s four homers and 10 RBIs have already tied NLCS records, with at least onemore game for the Dodgers to play — two if they want a chance to get to the World Series for the third time in four years.
The four homers are already a record for a shortstop in any postseason series.
Taylor turned an ankle in left field during the eighth inning but remained in the game. Manager Dave Roberts said Taylor would get treatment and testing before Game 6.
Minter struck out seven of the 10 batters he faced as the first pitcher in MLB history whose first start came in a postseason game. The fourth-year big leaguer became the first pitcher — starter or reliever — with seven strikeouts in three innings or fewer in a postseason game.
After Marcell Ozuna and Travis d’Arnaud had consecutive singles to start the third for Atlanta, there was one out when Dansby Swanson hit a sinking liner to right. Betts made a running catch, with his glove skimming the ground before his throw home was late. But the Dodgers challenged that Ozuna that left third base early — and it became the Braves third out instead of their third run.
“It’s not always on the offensive side that you get the spark,” Seager said. “A big play in a big moment you get some energy.”
The Braves scored in both innings off LA starter Dustin May. Freddie Freeman doubled, went to third and scored on d’Arnaud’s sacrifice fly in the first, and Pache had an RBI single in the second. D’Arnaud added an RBI groundout in the eighth.