Puig walking more and talking less
There were no theatrics. No bat-licking or tongue or bat flipping. But Yasiel Puig did something Sunday in Game 2 of the National League Championship Series against the Chicago Cubs that he’d done only once before this season: He walked, and walked, and walked.
The only other time Puig walked three times in a game this season was Aug. 11 against the San Diego Padres.
Hitting seventh in the order in front of very part-time player Charlie Culberson and the pitcher’s spot, Puig didn’t see many good pitches from the Cubs one day after he hurt them with a double and home run.
But he ended up hurting them with his patience. His third walk of the game led off the ninth inning and was followed three batters later by Justin Turner’s three-run home run that gave the Dodgers a 4-1 walk-off win and a 2-0 series lead.
“Yasiel is being so disciplined,” manager Dave Roberts said. “We talk about his energy, but we talk about his focus as well. He’s as focused as I’ve ever seen him.”
Seager feels ‘normal-ish’
Before the game, Roberts sounded an optimistic note about injured shortstop Corey Seager, who is recovering from a lowerback sprain that kept him off the team’s roster for the series.
“Well, Corey, in talking to him, he says he feels considerably better,” Roberts said before Sunday’s game. “He says he feels ‘normalish.’ That’s, I think, a good thing to hear.”
Seager has still not been cleared to run or swing a bat. The Dodgers hope he can resume baseball activities this week.
Seager is not expected to travel with the team to Chicago for the games there this week. Roberts said that could change if Seager’s condition improves considerably.
In order to activate Seager during this series, the Dodgers would need to put another player on the disabled list because of an injury, one that would be closely inspected by the Cubs and Major League Baseball. The injured player would not be eligible to play in the World Series, if the Dodgers advance.
Pay up
There is freedom of speech in baseball, but it is not free. Cubs manager Joe Maddon said he expected to be fined for the remarks he made after Game 1 on Saturday, when he launched into a passionate attack on the rule designed to eliminate collisions at the plate.
Catcher Willson Contreras made an artful play to block the plate and tag out Culberson, but the out was nullified and the Dodgers were given the run after replay officials concluded Contreras had not provided Culberson with a proper lane to the plate.
Maddon previously spoke out against the rule, and he said he has been fined. He added that he did not regret giving an honest answer, rather than couching his disdain in generalities.
“For me to be disingenuous, I just couldn’t have slept,” Maddon said. “So I said what I thought, and I’ll accept the consequences.”
Day-off plans
The Dodgers will hold a light workout Monday at Dodger Stadium before flying to Chicago. The Cubs will not work out, after a fiveday stretch in which the only day off involved a cross-country flight diverted for a medical emergency.
Maddon attracted national attention for the Cubs’ last day-off workout in Chicago, which featured brunch on the field and an NFL game on the big screen. This time, Maddon said, rest for his players would take precedence over a workout.
“I prefer the guys going back watching Monday Night Football in their own confines and not the Friendly Confines,” said Maddon, using the venerable nickname for Wrigley Field.
Short hops
Veteran first baseman Adrian Gonzalez has not been with the Dodgers during the playoffs. “He’s with his family, and he’s preparing for next spring training,” Roberts said. The Dodgers owe Gonzalez $22.4 million for 2018, but first base is now occupied by Cody Bellinger.
andy.mccullough@latimes.com bill.shaikin@latimes.com Times staff writer Mike Hiserman contributed to this report.