Dodgers walk it off in winner take all game, a breakdown
What Happened
The Los Angeles Dodgers and St. Louis Cardinals are locked in a winner-take-all National League Wild Card Game, a high-stakes, single-elimination matchup with the loser's season coming to an end. It's the bottom of the ninth inning, with the game tied 1-1. Veteran slugger Albert Pujols, a future Hall of Famer, steps up to the plate as a pinch hitter for the Cardinals. Pujols battles Dodgers reliever Tj McFarland in a tense at-bat, working the count full before flying out to center field. Outfielder Harrison Bader makes the catch for the second out. Up next is Cody Bellinger, the Dodgers' struggling former MVP. Bellinger takes a pair of close pitches, running the count to 3-2 against Cardinals closer Giovanny Gallegos. Bellinger then steals second base, putting the go-ahead run in scoring position. Dodgers pinch hitter Chris Taylor steps in, the game on the line. On a 3-2 pitch, Taylor absolutely crushes a slider, launching a towering, walk-off home run into the left field seats. The Dodger Stadium crowd erupts in jubilation as Taylor races around the bases, his teammates mobbing him at home plate in celebration. Dodgers veteran starting pitcher Max Scherzer, acquired in a midseason trade, celebrates with his former Washington Nationals teammates who are in attendance. Bellinger throws celebratory punches in the middle of the scrum, while Cardinals manager Mike Shildt and his players watch on in dejection as their season comes to an end. It's a stunning, game-winning blast by Taylor, the fifth player ever to hit a walk-off homer in a win-or-go-home postseason game. The Dodgers advance to the National League Division Series, their celebration capturing the sheer exhilaration and emotion of this dramatic, high-pressure moment.
Full Transcript
Click timestamps to jump to that momentthe dodgers and cardinals are tied up at
one run apiece in the nl wild card game
a one game elimination matchup loser
goes home winner gets to start their
postseason run basically bottom nine
this one's brought to you by draftkings
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when you do this one hit the under they
said there was going to be seven and a
half runs more or less it was less you
would have won if you hit the under use
promo code john boy albert pools he's
pinch hitting he steps in to the box he
greets tj mcfarland he says
what's up dude how you doing he says i'm
pretty nervous dude i got a face she
says okay i'll do some deep breaths
through this guy's like i like the
cardinals more than i like the dodgers
but i like pools more than i like
mcfarland so this is kind of a tough at
bat for me holy smokes didn't see this
one coming outside they say yaddy wanted
a strike but that is ball one that's
ball two that's ball three and pulls
like i think i want to hit i don't want
to get walked i'm a pinch hitter not a
pinch walker and he's like he's not
gonna swing at the 3-0 pitch let's just
get one oh he swung and oh
thank god it's caught bader straight out
of the 80s he makes the catch
mcfarland's like okay all right not the
grace these guys own a toy shop together
it's closed right now there's a sign out
front that says gone to la for the game
next pitch
in there strike one
that's a ball out one in one foul back
soos bots up that's fouled back that's a
ball off the plate 2-2 says i'm going to
try and swing doesn't swing full count
fouls it back yaddy's going to flash the
up and in in case anyone's signaling
then he goes down and away put into play
the 3-2 pitch bader's got it again two
outs now belly's up had a down year
looking to erase all of that with a good
postseason yachty with a cool little
play big swing 2-2 takes to 3-2 takes
the 3-2 again i said it wrong the first
time so we got a runner on and now
shielty's going to slow walk out there
thumbs down getting his joe tory and
mcfarland's like was that a good outing
was a bad out i can't tell they hit me
hard
run around going around oh swagger hound
ray is coming in walking like he knows
what's about to happen he doesn't he's
unaware but i appreciate the confidence
and chris taylor pinch hitting wagging
the bat in his face saying i'm gonna use
this to take you deep first pitch slider
big swing strike good call joe west
yachty says let's run that back that was
good and that is not the same slider as
the first pitch so they go change up
let's start anew
belly takes off grabs second base he can
score now yachty about to throw him out
but the ball just comes up snow coned in
his fingertips he can't get a handle on
it so now they got a 2-1 count they've
gone slider good slider bad slider bad
change up so what do they go to here
taylor's got to think about it and
they're going to go back to the slider
and it's a bad one it absolutely gets
hammered into the left field bleachers
and they're going crazy in la and
taylor's going crazy around the bases
the fifth player ever to hit a walk-off
home run in a winter
takesaw
game in the history of baseball water to
the face by turner water to the face by
turner they're grabbing them they're
ripping the jersey off it's gonna that's
a lot of testosterone it's a lot of men
just yelling and jumping and belly's
throwing left hooks and right hooks and
he's just punching the out of him
and sadness for wayne oh who pitched
pretty well and o'neil is gonna give his
skipper a big hug and say it was a hell
of a season and i love you like a dad
and this girl's crying and sad and this
guy says oh i'm sorry
it's okay but have you thought about how
happy i am at all and let's see
everyone's already standing so first
mouth open bam i got her as the winner
no one else has even reacted this dude
standing like a guy in church also in
church maybe this is their church this
guy also stayed like guy in church
it is their church we've all decided and
then a bunch of mouths just start
opening up just an open mouth festival
we've seen that before chris taylor hell
of a moment scherzer goes to give his
old teammate and the old hitting coach a
high five who were there cheering him on
because he got traded from the nationals
to the dodgers also saw his wife over
here that's his wife in the crowd so
he's gonna high-five kaelong and then
he's gonna give hey you and i love you
too a little kiss for her belly's like
did you see that play
really oh dab right in his face
everyone's excited oh wow
yeah it was brought to you by draftkings
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fun the rest of the playoffs dodgers
giant's gonna be a hell of a series