Longoria, Giants take 2-1 NLDS lead over LA
Evan Longoria homered off Max Scherzer in the fifth inning and the Giants edged the Dodgers 1-0 on a blustery Monday night to take a 2-1 lead in their NL Division Series.
Los Angeles nearly tied it with two outs in the ninth, when pinch-hitter Gavin Lux launched a long drive to left-center. But the wind knocked it down and the ball was caught on the warning track, leaving Lux in disbelief.
Chris Taylor flied out to center leading off, but that ball was caught, too.
“I think any other night the CT ball, the Gavin Lux ball, would have been home runs, yeah,” Dodgers manager Dave Roberts said.
It was the Giants’ second shutout in the best-of-five series after winning the opener 4-0.
Game 4 is Tuesday at Dodger Stadium, where the Giants can close out the defending World Series champions. Game 5 would be in San Francisco on Thursday, if necessary.
The Dodgers routed their longtime rivals 9-2 to win Game 2, but mustered just five hits back at home. NL batting champion Trea Turner and Mookie Betts each went 0-for-4, and Corey Seager was 0-for-4 with a walk.
“I thought we took some good at-bats and we just didn’t get rewarded,” Roberts said.
Longoria broke out of an 0-for-23 slump in a big way with his leadoff shot to left-center. He had just two hits in his last 40 atbats. It was his first postseason homer since the 2013 ALDS with Tampa Bay.
“Just this environment ... this is crazy,” Longoria said. “What a wild night, too — the wind. I mean, I think that the sound in here was kind of dampened by the wind.”
After the home run, Scherzer retired his final six batters. But the Dodgers lost for the first time in his 13 starts with the team since being acquired from Washington at the July 30 trade deadline.
“You get to the postseason, you can always lose by one pitch. That comes into play. Tonight I lost it on one pitch,” Scherzer said.
San Francisco starter Alex Wood allowed two hits over 4 2/3 innings against his former team.
The left-hander struck out four and walked two. Tyler Rogers got the win with 1 2/3 innings of relief. Camilo Doval pitched two perfect innings for the save.
Braves 3, Brewers 0
In Atlanta, Joc Pederson kept enhancing his “Joctober” nickname with a three-run, pinch-hit homer and the Braves shut down Milwaukee once again, beating the Brewers 3-0 to take a 2-1 edge in the NL Division Series.
Ian Anderson and the Braves bullpen combined on a five-hitter and won by a 3-0 score for the second straight game.
Boosted by shortstop Dansby Swanson’s athletic defense, Atlanta can try to reach its second straight NL Championship Series when it hosts Game 4 on Tuesday.