Dodger Destiny: A Wild Card Walk-Off 👀

October 7, 2021

By: Carlos Alvarez

NL Wild Card: Chris Taylor Smashes Walk-Off HR With 2 Outs in Bottom of the 9th to Lift Dodgers Over Cardinals (3-1)

 

How ‘bout that?! Last night’s NL Wild Card game between the Dodgers and Cardinals looked like it might need extras to decide who would face the Giants in the NLDS. Instead, one man delivered on the final out.

 

The Walk-Off Moment: In a 1-1 game, with two outs in the bottom of the 9th and Cody Bellinger on 2nd base, Dodgers’ LF Chris Taylor crushed a two-run, walk-off homer to send Dodger stadium into pure euphoria.

 

The First 9 Innings: It was the Cardinals who took a 1-0 lead off the bat in the 1st inning, but Justin Turner’s solo shot in the 4th evened things up. Five straight innings of scoreless baseball culminated in a blissful moment for the home team.

 

Watch: Dodgers Beat Cardinals (3-1) on Taylor’s Walk-Off in NL Wild Card

 

Pitcher Comparisons

M. Scherzer (LAD): 4.1 IP, 3H, 1ER, 4Ks

A. Wainwright (STL): 5.1 IP, 4H, 1ER, 5Ks

 

Next Up? The NLDS

The Dodgers are heading up the California coast for a date with their NL West rivals in San Francisco. Both the Giants (107-55) and Dodgers (106-56) boast the most wins across the majors, and they’ll square off early in the playoffs.

 

MLB Playoff Schedule (Tonight)

ALDS Gm 1: White Sox at Astros (4:00 pm ET)

ALDS Gm 1: Red Sox at Rays (8:00 pm ET)

 

Additional Storylines

USA Today: Defending World Series Champs Survive NL Wild-Card With Walk-Off

MLB: Joe Kelly Comes in Clutch for Dodgers After Pulling Max Scherzer in 5th