L.A. wins on Bellinger blast
ARLINGTON — The Los Angeles Dodgers celebrated as Cody Bellinger’s drive soared deep into the Texas night. Bellinger flung his bat off to the side and strutted up the first-base line.
All the way to the World Series.
Bellinger hit a tiebreaking solo homer in the seventh inning, and the Dodgers advanced to the Fall Classic for the third time in four years by topping the Atlanta Braves 4-3 in Game 7 of the National League Championship Series on Sunday.
Bellinger connected an inning after Kike Hernandez became the first pinch hitter with a game-tying or go-ahead homer in a winner-take-all-game. His homer tied it at 3 and, like Bellinger’s, came on the eighth pitch of the at-bat.
The Dodgers, who matched an league championship series record with16 homers, overcame a 3-1 series deficit by winning three consecutive games when facing elimination for only the second time in their storied history.
“Defensively, pitching, game-calling, planning, everything. we grinded all the way through this series,” said shortstop Corey Seager, who was named NLCS MVP after bashing a record five homers in the series. “We’re glad to be on top.”
After winning both their NLDS and the NLCS in the new $1.2 billion Globe Life Field, the Dodgers get to stay in place for the World Series. Game 1 against the American League champion Tampa Bay Rays is Tuesday night.
Julio Urias closed with
three perfect innings as the Dodgers won their 24th NL pennant, their 12th since moving to Los Angeles. They are coming off their eighth consecutive NLWest title.
It was the 16th consecutive playoff appearance in which NL East champion Atlanta did not win aWorld Series, the most of any team.
The Dodgers are once again going for their first World Series title since 1988.
Mookie Betts, the firstyear Dodgers star signed for 12 more years, made an
other incredible defensive play, robbing NL MVP candidate Freddie Freeman of a solo homer in the fifth. He had run-saving plays in all three of their potential elimination games.
“This is really the first time we’ve had our backs against thewall,” Betts said. “It seemed likewewere getting handled a little bit early on. We were able to get ahold of ourselves and fight back. we’re never going to give up.”
Urias, the fifth Dodgers pitcher, got his fourth win in four appearances this postseason. The 24-year
old righthander, already in his fourth postseason, has a 0.57 ERA in these playoffs.
Hernandez led off the sixth with a 424-foot drive to left-center offA. J. Minter.
“Game 7 of the NLCS, win or go home, Iwas ready from first pitch of the game on,” Hernandez said. “Mentally prepared, physically ready, envisioning AB situations.”
Dansby Swanson homered for Atlanta, which hasn’t been to the World Series since 1999.
Before the late drama, it was the first winner-take-all game in postseason history
matching rookie starters.
The Dodgers scored twice in the third to tie it at 2-2, the first runs allowed by Ian Anderson in his four postseason starts.
The Dodgers’ DustinMay became the first pitcher to walk the first two batters in a winner-take-all-game — and the 23-year-old from nearby Justin did so without throwing a strike to Acuna or Freeman. The Braves didn’t even swing at a pitch until Marcell Ozuna’s sharp single through the left side of the infield on an 0-1 curveball for a 1-0 lead.