Dodgers win national anthem standoff, lose game

Home plate umpire Greg Gibson tries to get the attention of Cardinals pitcher Joe Kelly and Dodgers outfielder Scott Van Slyke as they remain on the field after the lineup announcements and national anthem before Game 6 of the NLCS on Friday night in St. Louis.

By Mike Hiserman

Oct. 18, 2013 9:41 PM PT

St. Louis Cardinals pitcher Joe Kelly took time after the game to explain his standoff with Dodgers reserve Scott Van Slyke that got Game 6 of the National League Championship Series off to a weird and slightly belated start.

Kelly, it seems, made a habit of being the last player standing at attention after the national anthem.

“Apparently, they caught on to it, and he didn’t leave. So we stood there for a while,” Kelly said of Van Slyke. “It was fun.”

Kelly actually moved around some, while Van Slyke stood frozen. Umpire Greg Gibson shooed both into their dugouts with Michael Wacha ready to throw the game’s first pitch, and Kelly moved first, with Van Slyke claiming victory.

“It just happened,” said Van Slyke, who doesn’t know Kelly and doubted he had ever spoken to him. “It was something fun to start the game off.”

It was the Dodgers’ only win of the night.

The Cardinals won the game, 9-0, advancing to the World Series for the fourth time in 10 years.

Van Slyke didn’t play.

Wacha, who pitched 13 2/3 scoreless innings in the series, was NLCS MVP.