The Los Angeles Dodgers scored a big win on the road in Game 2 of the NLCS, beating the Milwaukee Brewers 4-3 to tie the series at one game apiece.
The Dodgers scored a 4-3 win on Saturday despite trailing 3-0 after six innings, with a two-run home run by Justin Turner in the eighth inning putting Los Angeles ahead for good.
Turner Rebounds from Embarrassing Game 1 Performance
The homer provided a dramatic moment of redemption for Turner, who went 0-for-5 with four strikeouts and an error in Game 1 of the NLCS.
“It felt good,” Turner told reporters after the game. “I knew it was a homer, and it’s cool to run around the bases and see all your teammates going crazy, jumping up and down waiting for you.”
Dodgers manager Dave Roberts said that Turner’s homer showed a level of resilience that not every player brings to the table.
“It takes a special athlete to have a night like he had last night and to show up the next day in a big spot and want to have the bat in your hand,” Roberts said after Game 2. “Justin is that guy, and those are hard to come by.”
Los Angeles will now get to play the next three games at Dodger Stadium, where the team hopes they’ll get better starting pitching performances than they did in Milwaukee. Clayton Kershaw and Hyun-Jin Ryu combined to pitch just 7.1 innings over the first two games of the series, and it will be up to rookie starter Walker Buehler (8-5, 2.62 ERA in the regular season) to turn that trend around in Game 3.
“Obviously threw the ball pretty good at home. But that’s what you’re supposed to do,” Buehler told reporters on Sunday. “Obviously 50,000 Dodger fans behind you doesn’t hurt. And sleeping in the same city that you’re going to play in and not having to fly anywhere is big.”
Price Does Enough to Help Red Sox Win
The Boston Red Sox also scored an important win over the weekend, beating the Houston Astros 7-5 at Fenway Park on Sunday night to tie the ALCS at one game each.
It was a critical win for the Red Sox, who were in danger of heading into Houston down two games to none. While Boston starter David Price was far from great, he managed to get through 4.2 innings while giving up four runs, enough to give the Red Sox a lead they would hold for the remainder of the game.
“It’s baby steps,” Price told reporters after the game. “I expect myself to be great in big moments, and I haven’t done that thus far in my career. But I came here to win, period. I came here to win a World Series, and to do it multiple times. And that’s what I’m about.”
Like the Dodgers, the Astros still did enough to flip home-field advantage in the ALCS by winning one game in Boston. They’ll look to retake the lead in the series behind Game 3 starter Dallas Keuchel (12-11, 3.74), the 2015 AL Cy Young Award winner.
Meanwhile, the Red Sox will send Rick Porcello (17-7, 4.28) to the hill. Porcello has already appeared in the ALCS, pitching a perfect eighth inning in Sunday’s win.
With both series tied at 1-1, the World Series betting odds remain largely unchanged. The Astros (7/4) remain the favorites according to William Hill, followed closely by the Red Sox (9/4), Dodgers (13/5), and Brewers (4/1).