The Dodgers had Game 2 of the National League Division Series until they didn’t, and right at a point when it looked like the Phillies’ ultimate comeback was inevitable, the Dodgers got a lifeline thanks to some quick thinking and terrific defense.
“It was a lot tougher — they made it look easier than it was,” manager Dave Roberts told reporters in Philadelphia, as shown on SportsNet LA. “For me, that was really our only chance, really, to win the game in that moment.”
The moment in question came after all three batters against Blake Treinen reached base, including Nick Castellanos, whose two-run double brought the Phillies to within 4-3, and he stood in scoring position with nobody out in the ninth inning.
Alex Vesia came into the game, and was immediately greeted by a bunt from Bryson Stott. But a charging Max Muncy fielded the ball and threw to Mookie Betts, who covered third base in time to tag Castellanos for a huge first out of the inning.
“Everyone’s fired up today. It went crazy,” said pitcher Blake Snell, who won his second game in as many starts this postseason. “To be able to do that play and everyone do it correctly was pretty amazing.”
“As soon as we got in that situation, Mookie, Tommy, and me started talking,” Muncy told reporters in the Citizens Bank Park visitors locker room, as shown on SportsNet LA. “‘We gotta do something different here. We can’t just play the standard bunt play’. When Doc came out for the pitching change we talked to him about it, and he was on board.”
“I’m going to credit Mook, because it was his idea,” Muncy added, “and we executed it to perfection.”
“The wheel play that we pulled off on that bunt, that was picture-perfect by Max and Mookie. I want to throw that out there,” said first baseman Freddie Freeman, who later in the frame scooped a throw in the dirt by Tommy Edman to secure the final out. “I know we might overlook that. But that was huge getting that guy out.”
Betts gave the credit to Miguel Rojas for advice earlier in the season.
“I think we did it earlier in the year, in Anaheim. I remember asking [Rojas], you know, when’s a good time to do it,” Betts told reporters in Philadelphia. “He said in do-or-die situations. He and [first base coach and infield coach Chris Woodward] have really helped me a lot in learning situations, and I haven’t been in that situation in a game like this. I just trusted it, made a decision, and it worked.”
That play in Anaheim was August 13, in a similar situation to Game 2 in Philadelphia, with the Dodgers up one with no outs in the ninth, only against the Angels there were runners on second and first base. Christian Moore bunted into a force out, though the Dodgers would eventually lose that game later in the frame.
As for why the Phillies would call for a bunt, with a runner already in scoring position and nobody out, after three straight hits to open the ninth, part of it was the matchup of left-handed Vesia facing the lefty-batting Stott, who hit .225/.287/.288 with a 61 wRC+ against southpaws this season.
“I liked where our bullpen was at based on, as compared to theirs,” manager Rob Thomson told reporters after the game. “We play for the tie at home.”
The Phillies never got that tie, and instead the Dodgers with another win hand return home to Los Angeles needing one more win to close out the series.
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