Belli bomb walks it off for the Dodgers

LOS ANGELES — Now, that’s more like it! For the second straight night, the Dodgers got some late night heroics to win a tight game. This time, Cody Bellinger smoked a solo home run in the bottom of the ninth to put the Dodgers over the top in a 3-2 walk-off win on Saturday evening.

Dodgers score early (for a change)

The game started early because of the national broadcast, and the Dodgers offense started early as well. Mookie Betts led off the home half of the first with a double, and came into score just four pitches later when Max Muncy hit a double of his own. Facing junkballer Alec Mills for the Cubs, Max waited through a couple of very slow off-speed pitches until he got another one that wouldn’t get ticketed for speeding on the 110. But Muncy blasted the 67 mph pitch off the centerfield wall. It looked like center fielder Jake Marisnick might have play on the ball but he kind of flailed around as the ball zipped by, allowing Betts to score easily.

Next hitter Justin Turner didn’t waste any time in getting another run on the board. He went opposite field on a sinker on the outside corner and shot the ball through the infield for an RBI single. Three hitters into their batting order, and the Dodgers were already up 2-0.

Dodgers let Mills off the hook in early innings

But that is where things stalled out for the next seven innings. Mills was in trouble a lot, but once again the Dodgers couldn’t get a clutch hit with men on base. Of course, Chris Taylor didn’t do the team any favors by getting thrown out twice at third base, once on a failed steal attempt, and once on a pick-off from catcher Wilson Contreras. Nevertheless, to say that the Dodgers had ample opportunity to pile on early in the game would be an understatement. Overall, after those three key hits in the first, the Dodgers were 0-for-4 with RISP, and left a total of seven men on base.

Urias pitches well, but gives up two runs

Because of the Dodgers’ failure to capitalize on these early opportunities, they let the Cubs scratch their way back into the game. Starter Julio Urias was much better tonight than he was in the first game of the San Diego series, but he gave up a couple of runs before his outing was over. On the first pitch of the fourth inning, Anthony Rizzo took Urias deep to right for a solo homer, and in the next frame, Ian Happ got a pinch hit double to drive in the game-tying run. Though he didn’t figure in the decision on Saturday, Urias has got to feel pretty good about his overall outing. His line for the night: 5.1 IP, 5 H, 2 ER, 12 K. The twelve punch-outs for Urias is a new career high for the Dodgers lefty.

Both pens sharp

However, the vaunted Cub bullpen wasn’t letting the Dodgers get anything going after Mills left the game after four innings. Brad Wieck, Dan Winkler, and Rex Brothers were impressive in their short work in relief. But the Dodgers’ pen wasn’t going to budge, either. Joe Kelly, Garrett Cleavinger, Phil Bickford, and David Price all put up zeroes for the Dodgers, giving up only two hits, and most importantly, no walks in relief of Urias. So while, it didn’t seem that likely the way the game started, it ended up being quite the pitchers’ duel, heading into the bottom of the ninth tied 2-2.

Ninth inning = hero time

The Dodgers have been notoriously bad in extra inning games this year (1-7), so nobody at Chavez Ravine was rooting for extra innings. But, after Keegan Thompson recorded two quick outs, it certainly seemed be heading in that direction. But the Dodgers’ last hope for a walk-off was a guy who was no stranger to the big moment: Cody Bellinger. Belli, who had entered the game late in a double shift, watched the first two pitches miss the strike zone. Then, on what should have been ball three, a pitch two inches off the plate was called strike one and suddenly Thompson was back in the count. However, the terrible call actually worked in the Dodgers’ favor because on the very next pitch, Bellinger took a low cutter to run the count to 3-1.

So by all rights, Bellinger should have been heading to first with a two-out walk, but because of the missed call, he lived to see one more pitch from Thompson. That was all he needed. Belli got another cutter, this time a little closer to the strike zone, and he jumped all over it. He got that beautifully violent swing in motion and got the bat head on the ball right in the hitting zone. CRACK! As soon as Bellinger made contact, every one in the stadium knew where the ball was headed. It sailed through the warm evening air and landed a half a dozen rows deep in the right centerfield bleachers. Moments like these should be savored. Let’s watch the whole at-bat, shall we:

One more with the Cubs on Sunday evening

A 3-2 walk-off win. Awesome. Now, let’s finish off the Cubbies tomorrow and win the series. That will go a long way to erasing that nasty taste in our mouths from that no-hitter on Thursday night. Clayton Kershaw gets the ball for the good guys, taking the mound against Adbert Alzolay. Again, it’s an early start for the national broadcast, this time ESPN. First pitch 4:15. Let’s go, Dodgers!