Let me welcome everybody to the wild, wild West. Three days, three rookies, three walk offs for the Los Angeles Dodgers.
Thus far, this season has been magical for Dave Roberts’ squad. Backed by an MVP-like first-half performance from Cody Bellinger, the emergence of Alex Verdugo and re-emergence of Joc Pederson, things got just a little bit more magical against a division foe this weekend. This culminated in Hollywood coming to life at Chavez Ravine.
Los Angeles and Colorado Face Off Again in LA
The Los Angeles Dodgers welcomed the Colorado Rockies to Dodger Stadium this weekend for a three-game set, up by 10 games in the NL West. Colorado came into the weekend just looking to steal the series from their division foes to creep closer in the standings, as Los Angeles has ran away with the west since the start.
Little did the Rockies know, they were about to get swept by Los Angeles in heart breaking fashion each game. In addition to this, the Dodgers made MLB history this weekend. They did this by having three rookie position players hit walk off homeruns in three consecutive games.
Dodgers in Game One
For the first time since the Dodgers celebrated clinching the NL West title in Game 163 last October, the Rockies visited Dodger Stadium on Friday night. The matchup featured the same pitching matchup from that deciding game back in October, with Walker Buehler on the mound for the home team, and Marquez for the visitors.
Buehler Balls Out
Walker Buehler toed the slab with his “A” game in toe. Buehler made things look too easy Friday night, striking out 16 Rockies en route to a 9-inning, sixteen punch out, performance.
Buehler’s final line displayed 9 IP, 1 ER, 16 K, and 1 BB. His only blemish came at the hands of Nolan Arenado, who just barely squeaked one over the left field wall in the top of the fourth inning.
Matt Beaty Becomes the Hero
The young Dodger phenom would only be the back story this weekend, however. The Dodgers came away with the win of Friday in walk off fashion, as rookie left-handed bat, Matt Beaty, who was recalled from Triple-A Oklahoma City on earlier in the day, clubbed a Walk-Off two-run homerun over the centerfield wall. This gave Walker Buehler and the Dodgers the win to open the series.
“It just felt like I was floating around the bases,” said Beaty, who had one career home run before Friday. “Just tried to soak it in.”
Dodgers in Game Two
Beaty followed up Friday night’s heroics with a game-tying RBI Single in the bottom of the eight inning on Saturday night, nodding the game at 4 a piece, as the Dodgers and Rockies would head to extra innings.
In the bottom of the eleventh inning, the dodger faithful would see deja-vu, as another Dodger rookie would walk things off with a solo blast. Alex Verdugo launched a fastball over the right field wall to give the dodgers a 5-4 win on Saturday night, celebrating in a way that 5x NBA Champion, Kobe Bryant, would be proud of.
Verdugo, who also homered in the fifth inning as part of a four-hit night, said, “The NBA Finals just finished and basketball is still fresh in my mind” when describing the celebration. “I was just messing around. It kind of happened naturally. I was in the moment.”
With this homerun, Verdugo. and Beaty became the only rookie teammates to hit walk-off homers in two consecutive games, according to Elias Sports Bureau.
Will Smith said, “Hold my beer.”
Dodgers in Game Three
“Three games in a row is pretty remarkable. Just when you think it couldn’t get any better, can’t get any better, it does,” Dodgers manager, Dave Roberts, said. “Will just got here last night. To come out and play a big role in this game, speaks a lot to his preparation.”
With the game tied going into the bottom of the ninth inning yet again for Los Angeles, another rookie stepped up to the plate looking to create more opportunities for himself, and that’s exactly what Will Smith did.
Smith was said to be kicking back with his triple-A teammates in the clubhouse of Oklahoma City’s Chickasaw Bricktown Ballpark Saturday night when Verdugo hit his 11th-inning walk-off home run that sent the Dodgers home happy.
“We were actually watching the game when Dugie hit it,” said Smith. “It was pretty cool.”
Smith became the second Dodger this weekend to hit a walk-off homerun on the same day he was called up (Matt Beaty). This was a first, as no organization in MLB history had won consecutive games on walk-off homers by rookies before the series in Los Angeles this weekend. Beaty, Verdugo, and Smith made it three in a row to complete a three-game sweep of the Rockies.
Chris Taylor described the game saying, “That was sick.” His pinch-hit, three-run homer in the seventh turned a 2-0 deficit into a 3-2 lead. “I think we’re all still in shock. Three nights in a row, walk-off homers by three rookies. It’s special to be able to do that.
“I think it takes some serious nerve to calm yourself in those situations, and Will has done it twice. It’s pretty impressive. It’s too bad we don’t have another home game. We were saying it’s [rookie outfielder Kyle] Garlick’s turn.”
Cody Bellinger Surrounded by Drama
Despite all the drama and excitement on Sunday afternoon, early MVP candidate Cody Bellinger found himself in the midst of drama throughout the afternoon. However, this had little to do with his play on the field.
In the first inning, a Bellinger foul ball struck a woman in the head. She was later taken to the hospital for precautionary tests. After this, in the ninth inning, a female fan ran onto the field and appeared to try to give Bellinger a hug. Security tackled her, then escorted her out.
It’ll be interesting to see if the LA Dodgers can keep the magic going on Monday as they head to Phoenix to take on the Arizona Diamondbacks. They will be looking to add to their already impressive lead atop the NL West.
