MOOKIE MONDAY: NLCS

[Shark]

Games: 7

Batting Average: .269 (7/26)

Runs: 4

HR: 0

2B: 1

RBI: 1

BB: 5

K: 4

Series-clinching catches: 3

What a series! The Los Angeles Dodgers won the NLCS in 7 games over the Atlanta Braves after trailing 3 games to 1. It was a remarkable comeback in which the whole team contributed, highlighted by Corey Seager’s NLCS MVP performance and Mookie Betts’s stellar defensive play.

In the first 2 games of the series, Mookie didn’t do much. He was 1 for 8 and really didn’t get the offense going. In the leadoff spot, Mookie sets the tone for the Dodgers’ lineup and it faltered up until game 3.

Game 3 is when Mookie led off the game with an infield single, just beating the throw from third base by less than a second. The play was initially called in the Braves’ favor but was overturned on replay. Mookie scored the first of a record 11 runs in the first inning of the Dodgers’ blowout win.

Then the Dodgers lost game 4 and came out flat against the Braves early in game 5. The Braves had all the momentum in the second inning of that game. Already up 2, they were threatening with Marcell Ozuna at 3rd base with 1 out. Dansby Swanson hits a sinking liner to right field and Mookie Betts made a shoestring, running catch to get the out. He then throws to home plate but doesn’t beat Ozuna. The Dodgers then throw to 3rd base to appeal, suggesting Ozuna left early. The call was safe. The Dodgers challenged and were rewarded with another overturned call. This ended the inning. Corey Seager would cut the lead in half the next inning the Dodgers go on to win the game.

In game 6 Marcell Ozuna was robbed again, this time at the plate. Mookie Betts made an incredibly athletic jump to nab an RBI extra base hit from Ozuna, preserving a 3-1 lead for the Dodgers. Betts’s reaction is just as captivating as the catch.

He couldn’t do it 3 games in a row, could he? It was impossible right? The Braves won’t be robbed again right?

Mookie did the unimaginable. He read and tracked a high fly ball from Freddie Freeman to the right field fence, hopped up a few feet and robbed Freeman of a homerun. The Dodgers would win game 7 by 1 run.

It is easy to see why Corey Seager won NLCS MVP but the Dodgers really played team baseball and would not have won if the whole team didn’t contribute. Mookie Betts’s defense halted the Atlanta Braves’s momentum for 3 straight games and paved the way for Dodger victories each game. These are highlights that will forever be attached to this year’s Dodgers’ achievements.