Mike Stobe/Getty Images
By Jon Weisman
It was nine innings of walking heart palpitations, but we’ve come through the other side.
The Los Angeles Dodgers are coming home to play Game 5 of the National League Division Series after defeating the New York Mets, 3-1.
With Clayton Kershaw delivering seven sparkling innings, the Dodgers had their first road victory in a playoff elimination game since 1981.
Kenley Jansen had the Dodgers’ first postseason save on the road since Jay Howell in Game 4 of the 1988 World Series.
NLDS Game 5 will be at 5 p.m. Thursday at Dodger Stadium, and limited tickets are available as of this writing. The winner of the game will host the Chicago Cubs in the National League Championship Series beginning Saturday.
Facing the usual massive postseason pressure, under the usual massive postseason scrutiny, Kershaw allowed one run — a solo homer by Daniel Murphy — and three other baserunners, while striking out eight. The seventh-inning demons that have plagued him in past playoff games reappeared — but were vanquished.
Los Angeles was shut out in eight out of nine innings, but this time, they weren’t shut down.
For the second game in a row, the Dodgers had a three-run inning. This one was started by Kershaw, who went with a 2-2 pitch to left center for a base hit. Kiké Hernandez hit into a forceout (with Kershaw sliding incident-free into second base).
Then the Dodgers’ got their engine running. Hernandez took off on a 1-2 pitch that Howie Kendrick hit up the middle to put runners at the corners.
Adrian Gonzalez dropped a soft blooper into shallow center field to drive in Hernandez for the game’s first run. Then, the red-hot redhead, Justin Turner, lined his fourth double of the NLDS down the line, scoring both Kendrick and Gonzalez for a 3-0 lead.
Kershaw didn’t seem at his sharpest in the first inning, going to a full count to Curtis Granderson before the leadoff hitter lined to Kendrick, then walking No. 2 hitter David Wright after being ahead 0-2. But none of the next nine batters reached against Kershaw.
“The first inning, I was kind of all over the place — fortunate to get out of that,” Kershaw said after the game on TBS. “After that, I felt pretty good.”
The one blemish came when Daniel Murphy, who homered against Kershaw in Game 1, did it again, drilling a fastball to right to cut the Dodger lead to 3-1.
Daniel Murphy hit his 2nd HR this series off of Clayton Kershaw. During the regular season, he hit 1 HR off left-handed pitching.
— ESPN Stats & Info (@ESPNStatsInfo) October 14, 2015
“I tried to mix it up a little bit more, (but) Murphy still got me,” Kershaw said. “I thought it was a decent pitch, but give him credit.”
Kershaw bounced back, not only retiring nine of the next 10 batters, but striking out six of them.
But it was no secret: Kershaw’s big trouble inning in the playoffs last year was the seventh. So even if it wasn’t surprising, it was noteworthy that he came up to bat in the top of the seventh, rather leave for a pinch-hitter. Nor was it surprising that this time around, the Dodgers would have two relievers warming up as the bottom of the inning began.
And how did it begin? With the sickest kind of black comedy — a 50-foot dribbler by Yoenis Cespedes that Kershaw rushed to but couldn’t flag. Suddenly, just like that, another nightmare seemed to be beginning.
Kershaw got up and closed the door, with almost shocking ease. Travis d’Arnaud fouled out to Gonzalez on two pitches. Lucas Duda flied to center on the next pitch.
And then, with Wilmer Flores, the baseball gods finally cut Kershaw a postseason seventh-inning break. He hit a hot shot that Justin Turner went down and picked, before throwing easily to first for the third out.
https://twitter.com/Dodgers/status/654133553383378944/photo/1
At 94 pitches, Clayton Kershaw’s night was done. But the Dodgers still had two innings to go.
With the Dodgers hitless since the fifth inning, second-half redemption project Chris Hatcher entered to protect the two-run lead. Pinch-hitter Michael Conforto flied easily to right, and pinch-hitter Kelly Johnson whiffed, but Granderson walked on five pitches to bring Wright to the plate as the tying run. That meant the entry of the Dodgers’ silver bullet, Kenley Jansen.
Jansen’s last pitch at Citi Field was the one that Juan Uribe smacked to center for an extra-inning, game-winning double in July. In his career, Wright was 0 for 6 with four strikeouts against the Dodgers’ big closer.
Wright swung and missed at 95 mph, then took a ball as Granderson stole second. Another swing and miss, then another ball and two fouls.
The seventh pitch of the at-bat was a shock — it looked every bit a strike, but was called a ball even as A.J. Ellis argued for a foul-tip strike three. Jansen just missed on the next offering, and Wright was aboard with a walk.
Replay wasn't clear on whether David Wright foul tipped ball three, but A.J. Ellis doesn't get that animated unless he heard something.
— J.P. Hoornstra (@jphoornstra) October 14, 2015
Now it was Murphy, with the tying runs on base, and while Dodger fans were still defibrillating from the last at-bat, the count went full.
Murphy took a full swing, like other Dodger antiheroes have taken in these situations too many times this century, but he didn’t get all of it. Just a fly ball to medium right, which Yasiel Puig cradled for the third out.
The Dodgers went out in order again in the top of the ninth, setting up the final inning.
Cespedes struck out on three cutters, and after a ball to d’Arnaud, fanned him on three more. And then, Duda hit a can of corn to defensive replacement Joc Pederson in center field, and we were coming home, for the first winner-take-all playoff game at Dodger Stadium since the 1988 NLCS — against the Mets.
throwdeuce
That non call on Wright was incredible. Pitch in the strike zone, he swings and it tips the bat and Ellis catches it, yet it’s called a ball. I thought for sure that was it, the curse was about to happen. Thankfully Jansen shrugged it off.
Jack Chmielewski
Best line of the night from the TBS crew. Johnson asked Ripkin what it must be like to be pitching at age 42, referring to Bartolo Colon. Ripkin came back with, “I don’t know, I retired at 41.” Darling finally said some good things about Kershaw.
Al Kenderes (@Coach__K)
The ex-Met Darling still has a bitter taste from losing the crucial 1988 series 7th game to the Dodgers. He has admitted it several times in the past when questioned about it. I was watching the SNY broadcast (the Met’s TV channel) after the game. He was reunited with his Mets broadcast crew and they reminded him of that loss. He did not take it well. I agree he did not act as a “homer” last night as he did the previous nights. I think he truly appreciated Clayton’s pressure performance.