It was a Hollywood ending for the wrong team. Indeed, in game five of the NLDS in Los Angeles; the Washington Nationals stunned the Los Angeles Dodgers and their fans. Furthermore, a run of four straight NLCS appearances ends for the Dodgers, while being the first for Washington.
Your memory bank will probably have this in it about this game. Here is Anthony Rendon and Juan Soto homering off back-to-back Kershaw pitches in the eighth inning to tie it 3-3. Obviously, if you have spider senses in baseball; the Dodgers weren’t going to overcome that.
If he looks like an MVP…
If he sounds like an MVP…
If he hits clutch HRs like an MVP…
…then he's probably an MVP.#BeatLA // #STAYINTHEFIGHT pic.twitter.com/qh81FFN1Th
— Washington Nationals (@Nationals) October 10, 2019
If he looks like an MVP…
If he sounds like an MVP…
If he hits clutch HRs like an MVP…
…then he's probably an MVP.#BeatLA // #STAYINTHEFIGHT pic.twitter.com/qh81FFN1Th
— Washington Nationals (@Nationals) October 10, 2019
Dodgers’ manager Dave Roberts couldn’t admit that he made a mistake going to Clayton Kershaw. Instead, Roberts said he would go back to Kershaw next time.
“I’ll take my chances any day on Clayton and it just didn’t work out right there.”
Undeniably, it didn’t work out. In a sequence of events I can’t quite familiarize with any other baseball game I’ve seen in my life, Kershaw allowed back-to-back home runs to Anthony Rendon and Juan Soto on two pitches. At that stage, the game was tied.
It’s another early season exit for the Dodgers under Roberts. While they set a franchise record for wins, honestly it’s just another black mark on the resume of Roberts. He tried to talk about what a season ending is like at a moment like this.
“It’s one of those things you can’t script. We made sure the guys understood how proud I was. How they competed all year long, they didn’t take a day off. You have to give credit to the Nationals and the way they played. Obviously, very disappointed is an understatement. But it’s just one of those things – we got beat – I’m disappointed for everyone.”
Honestly, you had to have the feeling something like this was coming. Remember, yesterday we wrote about Walker Buehler teaming up with Kershaw to help the Dodgers advance. Indeed, Buehler did his part; firing 6 and 2/3 innings of one-run baseball. Then, Kershaw happened.
Finally, I’m not sure Kershaw comes back from this one in the minds of many Los Angeleans. He was given the ball, the game, and the season in his hands; and it landed in the stands. One might wonder if the Dodgers are better off without the whole Kershaw dimension at this point. Are wholesale changes needed in LA?
