NEW YORK —
The checklist of Dodgers middle fielders to hit two residence runs in a postseason recreation was not lengthy. It consisted of 1 participant, Corridor of Famer Duke Snider, the previous Brooklyn Dodgers star who homered twice in Sport 6 of the 1952 World Sequence and Sport 5 of the 1955 World Sequence towards the New York Yankees.
That checklist doubled in measurement Friday night time when Andy Pages, a 23-year-old rookie from Cuba, hit a solo residence run within the fourth inning and a three-run shot within the fifth, each to left-center subject, one in every of two vibrant spots for the Dodgers in a 12-6 loss to the New York Mets in Sport 5 of the Nationwide League Championship Sequence at Citi Area.
Pages, who was demoted to triple-A Oklahoma Metropolis in August and had one hit and 4 strikeouts in his first 10 playoff at-bats, additionally singled within the second inning, a three-hit, four-RBI effort that the Dodgers have been unable to capitalize on however which might be important when the sequence returns to Los Angeles for Sport 6 on Sunday night time.
The Mets’ Sport 6 starter might be Sean Manaea, a left-hander with a cool sidearm supply and six-pitch combine who restricted the Dodgers to 2 earned runs and two hits, hanging out seven and strolling 4, in 5 innings of New York’s 7-3 Sport 2 victory in Dodger Stadium final Monday.
The proper-handed-hitting Pages hit .248 with a .712 on-base-plus-slugging share, 13 homers and 46 RBIs in 116 video games this season, however he hit .357 with a .917 OPS towards left-handers. He struck out in two at-bats towards Manaea in Sport 2, however supervisor Dave Roberts mentioned Pages might be again in middle subject for Sport 6.
“We need a guy who’s going to kill lefties, and he and Tommy [Edman] have been doing that,” second baseman Gavin Lux mentioned. “I think Pages is one of the best hitters in the game against left-handed pitching. For him to keep doing that, to take good at-bats against good arms, it’s valuable.”
Pages singled to right-center off Mets left-hander David Peterson within the second inning and crushed Peterson’s first-pitch sinker for a homer within the fourth, the ball leaving his bat at 107.2 mph and touring 418 toes.
Dealing with right-hander Reed Garrett within the fifth, Pages drove a 1-and-1 minimize fastball on the internal half of the plate 376 toes for a three-run homer, chopping the Mets’ result in 10-5. Pages struck out towards nearer Edwin Diaz within the eighth.
“I feel good about my performance, but the result wasn’t what we wanted, so now I move on and try to do my best out there on Sunday,” Pages mentioned by an interpreter. “The last time, Manaea pitched well. Things didn’t go my way, but he didn’t miss any pitches. We’ll see if he doesn’t miss his spots again on Sunday.”
The opposite vibrant spot was lengthy reliever Brent Honeywell, who changed battered starter Jack Flaherty to begin the fourth and coated 4 ⅔ innings, preserving all six of the staff’s prime relievers — Blake Treinen, Michael Kopech, Evan Phillips, Ryan Brasier, Daniel Hudson and left-hander Anthony Banda, who confronted one batter within the eighth — for Sunday’s bullpen recreation.
“I don’t do it for me, I do it for these guys in here,” Honeywell mentioned. “I love these guys. I love Doc. I love everybody over here. I told [Roberts] in the dugout, ‘This is my game until it’s not.’ And I tried to keep us in the game.
“We had a shot to win. I felt like we made the turn a little bit, battled our [tails] off here. We knew they were going to fight tonight, it’s playoff baseball. The series is 3-2. Gotta save the dogs.”
Honeywell gave up 4 runs and 6 hits throughout his 67-pitch outing, giving up two within the fourth, one within the sixth and one within the eighth. That prevented the Dodgers from pulling nearer, however Roberts praised the reliever when he got here to the mound to take away him within the eighth and once more afterward.
“It’s not always fun when you’re going through it, certainly from my chair,” Roberts mentioned of the problem of realizing when to deploy his higher-leverage relievers after falling behind by seven runs after three innings. “You have to remain steadfast in how you use your pitchers, because ultimately it’s about winning four games in a seven-game series.
“With our leverage guys, mainly Blake and Evan, it just wasn’t responsible [to turn to them] at that point of the game. So Honeywell did a fantastic job saving everyone and knowing we have a bullpen game coming.”
The sport left Honeywell with a bittersweet style in his mouth. He didn’t pitch that properly, and the Dodgers misplaced the sport and the momentum they in-built lopsided victories in Video games 3 and 4. However he did one thing that might assist his staff within the huge image.
“That’s what a seven-game series is all about, what playoff baseball is,” Honeywell mentioned. “There’s a job for everybody, every single one of us in here. Tonight wasn’t our night, but anything I can do to help us is what I want to do.”
