The Los Angeles Dodgers battled the elements and made one great play to end both their game in Philadelphia and their brief two-game losing skid.
The Dodgers executed an impressive 5-2-6-4 double play that ended their 2-1 victory over the Philadelphia Phillies at a rain-soaked Citizens Bank Park on Tuesday.
The Dodgers became the first team to reach 64 wins this season and evened the three-game series after falling 10-7 to the Phillies on Monday.
Justin Wrobleski picked up his 11th victory, and Tanner Scott got five outs, and cheated death by inducing the game-ending double play, to pick up his 15th save of the season.
The Dodgers Executed A Game-Ending Double Play
It all turned out well for the Dodgers but not before Scott pitched them into a huge jam in the ninth inning.
After retiring Kyle Schwarber and Bryce Harper to end the eighth inning, Scott gave up a single to Alec Bohm then a double to Phillies catcher J.T. Realmuto, setting the Phillies up with runners on second and third with only one out.
But Scott induced Brandon Marsh to hit a bouncer to Max Muncy, who ran at pinch runner Justin Crawford, trapping him in a rundown before throwing the ball to catcher Dalton Rushing.
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“It’s just fundamentals,” Dodgers manager Dave Roberts said. “Max did a great job securing the baseball and understood that the tying run was going home and secured it and ran [Crawford] hard back.”
Realmuto had reached third base but retreated back to second after Crawford went back to third. So after shortstop Mookie Betts tagged Crawford, he threw a strike to second baseman Tommy Edman, who placed a perfect tag on Realmuto, ending the game
“I knew Crawford was fast,” Scott told Spectrum Sportsnet LA. “Muncy got the ball to Rushing, and Rushing had to get it to Mookie, and next thing I know I see JT going back, and Mookie made a hell of a play.”
“That play in itself was a huge play, ended the game,” Roberts said. “Fortunately, [Realmuto] made an uncharacteristic baserunning mistake, and fortunately Mookie threw a dart to second base.”
Muncy, who also homered in the game and tied Ron Cey for second on the Dodgers’ all-time list, was more satisfied with starting the double play than making history.
“The defensive play means more to me than the homer,” Muncy said. “For me, the work I’ve been putting in on defense, anytime I can make an impact on defense, those are way more important to me.”
Tuesday’s Dodgers-Phillies Game Had a Playoff Vibe
The Monday night game between the NL powers was sloppily played. It had 17 runs, and the Dodgers left nine on base. Phillies shortstop Trea Turner should have had three errors himself, even though he only ended the game with only one.
But even though Tuesday’s game was delayed by 1 hour and 20 minutes, it had big October vibes. Wrobleski, who pitched in Philadelphia in the All-Star Game last week, squared off against Zack Wheeler, who was named an all-star but did not participate, and each starter delivered.
Even Roberts could sense the playoff vibes which, fortunately for the Dodgers, resulted in similar fashion to last year, when LA eked out a four-game series win in the NLDS.
“That was a playoff environment,” Roberts said. “I think you can tell how badly we wanted it, how bad they wanted it. You’ve got two heavyweight teams going toe to toe, and we didn’t give anything away. I was really proud of the way we competed tonight.”
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