Two unsung heroes may have set up the Dodgers for success in NLCS Game 6
NEW YORK — The list of Dodgers center fielders to hit two home runs in a postseason game was not long. It consisted of one player, Hall of Famer Duke Snider, the former Brooklyn Dodgers star who homered twice in Game 6 of the 1952 World Series and Game 5 of the 1955 World Series against the New York Yankees.
That list doubled in size Friday night when Andy Pages, a 23-year-old rookie from Cuba, hit a solo home run in the fourth inning and a three-run shot in the fifth, both to left-center field, one of two bright spots for the Dodgers in a 12-6 loss to the New York Mets in Game 5 of the National League Championship Series at Citi Field.
Pages, who was demoted to triple-A Oklahoma City in August and had one hit and four strikeouts in his first 10 playoff at-bats, also singled in the second inning, a three-hit, four-RBI effort that the Dodgers were unable to capitalize on but which could be significant when the series returns to Los Angeles for Game 6 on Sunday night.
Jack Flaherty’s struggles in NLCS Game 5 were strange after he dominated Game 1, but the Dodgers are still going to beat the New York Mets in this series.
The Mets’ Game 6 starter will be Sean Manaea, a left-hander with a funky sidearm delivery and six-pitch mix who limited the Dodgers to two earned runs and two hits, striking out seven and walking four, in five innings of New York’s 7-3 Game 2 victory in Dodger Stadium last Monday.
The right-handed-hitting Pages hit .248 with a .712 on-base-plus-slugging percentage, 13 homers and 46 RBIs in 116 games this season, but he hit .357 with a .917 OPS against left-handers. He struck out in two at-bats against Manaea in Game 2, but manager Dave Roberts said Pages will be back in center field for Game 6.
“We need a guy who’s going to kill lefties, and he and Tommy [Edman] have been doing that,†second baseman Gavin Lux said. “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.â€
Pages singled to right-center off Mets left-hander David Peterson in the second inning and crushed Peterson’s first-pitch sinker for a homer in the fourth, the ball leaving his bat at 107.2 mph and traveling 418 feet.
Facing right-hander Reed Garrett in the fifth, Pages drove a 1-and-1 cut fastball on the inner half of the plate 376 feet for a three-run homer, cutting the Mets’ lead to 10-5. Pages struck out against closer Edwin Diaz in 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 said through 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.â€
The other bright spot was long reliever Brent Honeywell, who replaced battered starter Jack Flaherty to start the fourth and covered 4 ⅔ innings, preserving all six of the team’s top relievers — Blake Treinen, Michael Kopech, Evan Phillips, Ryan Brasier, Daniel Hudson and left-hander Anthony Banda, who faced one batter in the eighth — for Sunday’s bullpen game.
“I don’t do it for me, I do it for these guys in here,†Honeywell said. “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.â€
Honeywell gave up four runs and six hits during his 67-pitch outing, giving up two in the fourth, one in the sixth and one in the eighth. That prevented the Dodgers from pulling closer, but Roberts praised the reliever when he came to the mound to remove him in the eighth and again afterward.
“It’s not always fun when you’re going through it, certainly from my chair,†Roberts said of the challenge of knowing if and 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.
Jack Flaherty runs into problems early, giving up eight earned runs in a 12-6 loss to the New York Mets in Game 5 of the NLCS, sending the series back to L.A.
“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.â€
The game left Honeywell with a bittersweet taste in his mouth. He didn’t pitch that well, and the Dodgers lost the game and the momentum they built in lopsided victories in Games 3 and 4. But he did something that could help his team in the big picture.
“That’s what a seven-game series is all about, what playoff baseball is,†Honeywell said. “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.â€
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