LOS ANGELES — the city’s mayor, Antonio Villaraigosa Intense wind gusts began blowing from centre field well before sundown on Monday night and persisted well into the latter innings. They slammed into the foul poles and turned Chavez Ravine into a whirling inferno that resembled the San Francisco shoreline or perhaps Candlestick Park.
Giants Manager Gabe Kapler
As a product of the San Fernando Valley, Giants manager Gabe Kapler stated, “I don’t remember a lot of evenings at Dodger Stadium were the wind was blowing like that.”
Despite being at home, the Los Angeles Dodgers performed as though they were out of their depth in a loss that pushed them to the verge of elimination.
Giants’ Powerful Offence
Five singles were all that the Dodgers could muster in a 1-0 defeat by the Giants in Game 3 of the NL Divisional Series on Monday night. San Francisco has been shut out twice in three games against the Giants’ powerful offence, which led the NL with 830 runs scored and 237 home runs hit during the regular season. That’s a huge problem in the crucible of a best-of-five series.
The Dodgers were confident that they could handle any kind of weather, despite the unusually strong wind.
Albert Pujols, who went 2-for-4, said, “Hey, it happens,” after the game. “You have no control over that.” Part of the fun. You’ve got to be kidding me if you believe it was freezing…. We didn’t win the game tonight, and it’s impossible to put the blame on the wind. There is no way around that, Mother Nature. You must honour that.”
However, the Dodgers failed to get the timely, dramatic hits that have typified so much of their postseason success while capturing three NL pennants and one ring over the previous four seasons for the second time in the series. There was no match for this monster in blue, even against the understated former Dodger starter Alex Wood, whose fastball never above 90 mph.
The Dodgers, Despite Everything, had a Few Moments where they Felt their Postseason Serendipity had Returned, Only to have it Blown Down.
The ninth-inning hero raised his arm in triumph after hitting a 106.9 mph drive to to centre field, believing he had finally broken through. Statcast predicted that 69% of the time the hit will be a home run, with an expected batting average of.890. Steven Duggar’s glove caught it just as it was about to hit the warning track.
A fly to right-center field by Chris Taylor with an XBA of.920 was likewise caught by Duggar in the sixth inning.
Both balls were blown away, According to Dodgers Manager Dave Roberts.
Gavin Lux and CT balls would have been home runs on any other night, according to Roberts. These two balls right here, it would have changed everything. It’s baseball, after all, and those are the rules both teams have to play by.
A Game 3 lineup that included six 2020-bound players was no better than the one that was blanked in the first game of the World Series last year, despite LA’s 30 playoff homers and 101 runs scored.
Even if the gusts that bent the palm trees and drove the temperature falling weren’t the sole reason of LA’s power outage, it has put the Dodgers in a precarious position ahead of Tuesday night’s Game 4.
Last Words
A large chunk of the Dodgers’ offensive woes can be attributed to the Giants, particularly in the seventh inning. When Mookie Betts hit a 100.4 mph line shot to left field against former Los Angeles reliever Jake McGee, two Dodgers were already on base. But UCLA product shortstop Brandon Crawford snagged it with a perfectly timed leap.
Roberts added, “Really terrific at-bat,” with a noticeable sigh of despair. “I’ve figured it out. When Brandon was in the right place, he made an athletic play that we’ve seen before..”
A sharply hit grounder that would have given Betts the tying run was snared by Crawford for the final out of the fifth inning.
Los Angeles was a dismal 0 for 4 with the bases loaded, unable to capitalise on the few opportunities that arose. Aside from Max Muncy, who has been out with an injury for most of the postseason, many other players who have been October heroes in the past have run out of playoff magic.
Read Also:
- Russian Goalies Highlight Lightning-Islanders Series
- Its Wishs At Gift Single Veola Williams
- Ice-Cold Bats Put Powerful Dodgers on Brink of Early Winter
The Dodgers got exactly what they expected and demanded from Max Scherzer, the 37-year-old right-hander, who hurled seven innings of three-hit ball with 10 strikeouts despite one especially wild gust pushing him partially off the mound in the first inning.
Los Angeles’ big trade deadline acquisition ultimately suffered his first loss in a Dodgers uniform.
If Los Angeles fails to win two games against San Francisco, Scherzer will be a free agent this winter, along with Clayton Kershaw, Taylor, and Kenley Jansen, among others, after the Dodgers’ bet to acquire the ace and Trea Turner failed to produce playoff success.
