Dodgers magic moments in 2017
The Dodgers won a Los Angeles-record 104 games this season, including several with comebacks. A look at some of the magical moments from a record-setting year:
April 3
Situation: Dodgers open season against San Diego with power surge.
Final score: Dodgers 14, Padres 3
Stars: Joc Pederson, Yasmani Grandal, Corey Seager
What happened: Pederson hits a grand slam as part of a franchise-record four home runs on opening day. Pederson drives in five runs, Grandal homers twice and Seager adds a three-run shot.
April 12
Situation: Dodgers watch Cubs receive their World Series rings in Chicago’s home opener.
Final score: Dodgers 2, Cubs 0
Stars: Andrew Toles, Brandon McCarthy
What happened: Just minutes after the ring ceremony ends, Toles leads off the game with a homer. McCarthy pitches six shutout innings. “It’s 2017,” Toles said. “That was last year; it’s over. They can enjoy it, but we’re looking forward to this year.”
April 29
Situation: Dodgers trail, 5-2, going into the bottom of the ninth, facing Phillies closer Hector Neris.
Final score: Dodgers 6, Phillies 5
Stars: Yasiel Puig, Cody Bellinger, Justin Turner, Adrian Gonzalez
What happened: Puig, Bellinger and Turner lead off the inning with consecutive home runs off Neris, tying the score. After Chris Taylor strikes out, Austin Barnes singles. Joely Rodriguez comes in to pitch and gets Andrew Toles on a fly ball to left. Corey Seager singles to left, and with two out and the winning run on second, Gonzalez singles off the third baseman’s glove, scoring Barnes and winning the game. The victory improved the Dodgers’ record to 13-12 and they never looked back during an incredible run in which they won 80 of 104 games.
May 5
Situation: Cody Bellinger is almost sent down to the minors, until Adrian Gonzalez agrees to go on the disabled list with a bad back.
Final score: Dodgers 8, Padres 2
Star: Bellinger
What happened: Bellinger homers twice, giving him four homers in 10 games. The Dodgers had told him he was going down, but he stayed after Gonzalez went on the DL for the first time in his career. “I’ve said it before, him going on the DL, you never want to see it,” Bellinger said. “He’s been awesome to me. He’s been a guy that I looked up to growing up and he’s kind of taken me under his wing. A healthy Adrian is a scary Adrian for opposing pitchers.”
May 9
Situation: Dodgers trail Pittsburgh, 3-2, in the bottom of the ninth.
Final score: Dodgers 4, Pirates 3 (10)
Stars: Cody Bellinger, Austin Barnes
What happened: With Pirates closer (and future Dodger) Tony Watson on the mound, Corey Seager, Justin Turner and Bellinger hit consecutive singles to tie the score and send the game into extra innings. In the 10th, Barnes doubles home pinch runner Ross Stripling to win the game.
May 23
Situation: Dodgers and Cardinals are tied, 1-1, in the bottom of the 13th.
Final score: Dodgers 2, Cardinals 1 (13)
Star: Logan Forsythe.
What happened: With two out and former Dodger Jonathan Broxton on the mound, Enrique Hernandez draws a walk and scores on Forsythe’s double to right.
June 2
Situation: Strikeouts pile up for Clayton Kershaw.
Final score: Dodgers 2, Brewers 1 (12)
Stars: Kershaw, Cody Bellinger, Kenley Jansen
What happened: Bellinger homers in the top of the 12th inning to give the Dodgers the win in a game in which Kershaw struck out the 2,000th batter of his career. Dodgers pitchers notch a franchise-record 26 strikeouts. “Strikeouts were a little bit contagious today. Sometimes you just kind of get on that roll,” Kershaw said. Jansen’s strikeout of Hernan Perez in the 11th was his 36th of the season without a walk, a major league record.
June 3
Situation: Dodgers trail, 8-5, heading into the top of the ninth.
Final score: Dodgers 10, Brewers 8
Star: Chris Taylor
What happened: The Dodgers load the bases with one out in the ninth against Carlos Torres, who walks Cody Bellinger to force in a run. Up steps Taylor, who hits a grand slam to center.
June 9
Situation: Justin Turner’s first game back since spending a couple of weeks on the DL because of a strained hamstring.
Final score: Dodgers 7, Reds 2
Star: Turner
What happened: In his first at-bat, Turner launches a two-run homer. “It just feels good to be back in there,” Turner said. “I used Cody Bellinger’s bat. There must be home runs in it.”
June 10
Situation: Dodgers and Reds tied, 4-4, in the bottom of the ninth.
Final score: Dodgers 5, Reds 4
Star: Corey Seager
What happened: Yasiel Puig and Justin Turner single to put runners at first and second to set the table for Seager, who doubles to left off of future Dodger Tony Cingrani for the first walk-off hit of his career at any level.
June 11
Situation: Dodgers trail Reds, 7-3, going into the bottom of the eighth.
Final score: Dodgers 9, Reds 7
Stars: Cody Bellinger, Corey Seager
What happened: With one out, Bellinger homers to center. After Yasmani Grandal singles, Reds reliever Rasiel Iglesias walks three to force in a run. Seager hits a grand slam to center, the first of his career, to put the Dodgers ahead.
June 14
Situation: Dodgers tied with Indians, 2-2, and facing dominant setup man Andrew Miller.
Final score: Dodgers 6, Indians 4
Star: Enrique Hernandez
What happened: Hernandez hits an unlikely homer against Miller that barely clears the fence. The Dodgers tack on three more runs with a groundout and a two-run single by Corey Seager and hang on to win.
June 19
Situation: Cody Bellinger continues to pile up home runs.
Final score: Dodgers 10, Mets 6
Star: Bellinger
What happened: Bellinger hits two home runs, giving him 21 in 51 games, faster than any player in history. Despite spotting the rest of the National League three weeks before he was called up from the minors, he takes the league lead in homers.
June 20
Situation: Corey Seager hits three home runs.
Final score: Dodgers 12, Mets 0
Star: Seager
What happened: Seager hits three home runs in a game for the second time in his career, leading a five-homer attack for the Dodgers and allowing Brandon McCarthy to get an easy win. “Whatever (Cody) Bellinger’s doing, I don’t understand,” McCarthy said. “I think Seager got mad and decided to hit some balls out.”
June 30
Situation: Dodgers set franchise record for most homers in a month.
Final score: Dodgers 10, Padres 4
Stars: Austin Barnes, Justin Turner
What happened: Barnes drives in seven runs with two homers, and Turner hits a two-run shot to give the Dodgers 53 home runs in June, the most they have ever hit in a month.
July 5
Situation: Alex Wood joins elite company.
Final score: Dodgers 1, Diamondbacks 0
Star: Wood.
What happened: Wood pitches seven scoreless innings, becoming the first Dodgers starter to reach 10-0 since Don Newcombe in 1955.
July 6
Situation: Dodgers trail Arizona, 4-1, in the bottom of the ninth.
Final score: Dodgers 5, Diamondbacks 4
Stars: Logan Forsythe, Corey Seager, Chris Taylor
What happened: Diamondbacks closer Fernando Rodney doesn’t get an out in the ninth. Yasiel Puig singles, and walks to Joc Pederson and Cody Bellinger load the bases. Forsythe follows with a walk to score a run. Seager follows with a single up the middle to drive in two and tie the score. Justin Turner is walked intentionally to load the bases and Taylor singles off of T.J. McFarland for the win.
July 8
Situation: Dodgers and Royals are tied, 4-4, in the bottom of the 10th.
Final score: Dodgers 5, Royals 4 (10)
Stars: Cody Bellinger
What happened: Scott Alexander, on the mound for the Royals, walks Chase Utley, Corey Seager and Justin Turner to load the bases. Kelvin Herrera replaces him and walks Bellinger, forcing in the winning run. All four of the walks come on a full count.
July 9
Situation: Dodgers, Clayton Kershaw charge into the All-Star break.
Final score: Dodgers 5, Royals 2
Star: Kershaw
What happened: Kershaw becomes the majors’ first 14-game winner, striking out 13 on 99 pitches, becoming the first pitcher in major league history to strike out at least that many in a complete game with fewer than 100 pitches. The streaking Dodgers head into the break with baseball’s best record, 61-29.
July 14
Situation: Dodgers down to their last strike, trailing Miami 4-3 in the top of the ninth.
Final score: Dodgers 6, Marlins 4
Star: Yasiel Puig
What happened: With two out in the ninth, Puig hits a three-run homer on a 1-2 count, lifting the Dodgers to the win. It was Puig’s second homer of the game.
July 15
Situation: Cody Bellinger needs a triple to hit for the cycle.
Final score: Dodgers 7, Marlins 1
Stars: Bellinger, Alex Wood
What happened: Bellinger triples in the seventh inning to become the first Dodgers rookie to hit for the cycle. He singled in the first inning, hit a two-run homer in the third, added a run-scoring double in the fourth and hit his second career triple on the first pitch of the seventh. He becomes the ninth player in the Dodgers’ 128-year history to hit for the cycle. Wood gets the win to become the first Dodgers starting pitcher to start the season 11-0.
July 23
Situation: After a rare blown save from Kenley Jansen allows Atlanta to rally for three runs in the ninth, the score is tied, 4-4, heading into the bottom of the 10th.
Final score: Dodgers 5, Braves 4 (10)
Star: Logan Forsythe
What happened: Braves pitcher Jim Johnson gives up a leadoff single to Chris Taylor. Corey Seager forces Taylor at second and moves to third on Justin Turner’s single. An intentional walk to Cody Bellinger loads the bases with one out, and Forsythe singles to center to drive in the winning run.
July 26
Situation: Dodgers trail the Twins, 5-2, going into the bottom of the seventh.
Final score: Dodgers 6, Twins 5
Stars: Chase Utley, Logan Forsythe, Justin Turner
What happened: Twins starter Ervin Santana, in control most of the game, gives up singles to Forsythe and Yasmani Grandal and a double to Utley as the Dodgers pull within 5-4 in the seventh. In the eighth, pitcher Taylor Rogers walks Turner and gives up a single to Enrique Hernandez and Forsythe hits a sacrifice fly to center to tie the score. In the ninth, Twins closer Brandon Kintzler gives up singles to Austin Barnes and Chris Taylor before Turner singles to left for the win.
July 30
Situation: Dodgers trail, 1-0, going into the bottom of the ninth.
Final score: Dodgers 3, Giants 2
Stars: Yasiel Puig, Kyle Farmer
What happened: Puig singles in Chase Utley to break a shutout and tie the score in the ninth, but that just sets the stage for the 10th inning. The Giants score a run in the top of the 10th, but the Dodgers answer. With one out, Corey Seager doubles and Justin Turner is walked intentionally. With the pitcher’s spot due up, manager Dave Roberts turns to Farmer, just promoted from the minors. In his first major league at-bat, Farmer doubles to right, scoring Seager and Turner for the win. Farmer’s teammates mob him, ripping off his jersey and dousing him with liquid in one of the most memorable scenes of the season.
Aug. 4
Situation: Yu Darvish makes his Dodgers debut.
Final score: Dodgers 6, Mets 0
Star: Darvish
What happened: Acquired from Texas at the trade deadline, Darvish strikes out 10 and gives up three hits in his Dodgers debut.
Aug. 5
Situation: Dodgers have historic run.
Final score: Dodgers 7, Mets 4
Stars: The team
What happened: The Dodgers homer five times, capped by Yasiel Puig’s tiebreaking shot in the seventh, to get their 43rd win in 50 games, giving them the best 50-game run by a big league team since the 1912 New York Giants also went on a 43-7 tear.
Aug. 16
Situation: Dodgers trail the White Sox, 4-2, in the bottom of the ninth.
Stars: Logan Forsythe, Yasiel Puig
What happened: Three White Sox pitchers can’t stop the Dodgers. With one out, Cody Bellinger singles to center and Forsythe doubles to center, scoring Bellinger. Austin Barnes singles to center, with Forsythe stopping at third. Puig then doubles to center scoring Forsythe and Barnes for the victory.
Twitter: @latimeshouston
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