Reporting from MILWAUKEE — The decibel level at Miller Park was peaking again, reinvigorated by the line drive Lorenzo Cain had cracked down the left-field line, in the fifth inning on Saturday night. Cain stood at second, representing the tying run for the Milwaukee Brewers in Game 7 of the National League Championship Series. The overwhelming favorite to win the National League MVP award next month was up next. Dodgers manager Dave Roberts decided it was time to make a change.
So out came Walker Buehler, his 24-year-old starter, and in came 22-year-old Julio Urias to pitch in the biggest spot of his young career a night after learning of his grandmother’s death. He was responsible for retiring Christian Yelich, who had already homered.
After going up 0-2 on Yelich, Urias slung a 94-mph fastball up over the plate. Yelich cracked it to left-center field. Urias thought he was in trouble.
“I got scared,” Urias said in Spanish, “I’m not going to lie.”
The ball was sinking as left fielder Chris Taylor and center fielder Cody Bellinger converged. At the last second, as he approached the warning track, Taylor leaped with his glove in the air and caught the slicing ball as he tumbled to the ground. Bellinger jumped in delight, his arms up in celebration, as he zoomed by Taylor. Taylor got on his knees, turned toward the crowd and yelled “Let’s go!” The catch preserved a 2-1 Dodgers’ lead.
“I was trying to get to the gap and the ball kind of tailed back over my head so I had to reroute a little bit,” Taylor said. “And I’m glad I was just able to make the adjustment.”
A few minutes later, Yasiel Puig smashed a two-out, three-run home run to straightaway center field off Jeremy Jeffress, putting the game out of reach in the Dodgers’ 5-1 win.
“At that point, I thought the game was tied,” Roberts said. “But CT gets a great break on the ball, and really a game-saving play. Once the game is tied anything can happen. The momentum shifts. But that was certainly a signature play at the time.”
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Dodgers Yasiel Puig celebrates with Manny Machado in locker room after capturing the National League Championship Series. (Wally Skalij/Los Angeles Times )
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Dodgers Yasiel Puig celebrates in locker room after Dodgers defeated Brewers 5-1. (Wally Skalij/Los Angeles Times / )
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Dodgers celebrate in the locker room after winning game seven of the National League Championship Series. (Wally Skalij / Los Angeles Times)
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The Dodgers celebrate a 5-1 win over the Brewers in game seven. (Robert Gauthier / Los Angeles Times)
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Dodgers celebrate after capturing game seven of the National League Championship Series against the Milwaukee Brewers at Miller Park. (Wally Skalij/Los Angeles Times / )
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The Dodgers pose for pictures after beating the Brewers in game seven of the National League Championship Series against the Milwaukee Brewers at Miller Park. (Wally Skalij/Los Angeles Times / )
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Dodgers Clayton Kershaw celebrate with teammates after defeating the Brewers 5-1 in game 7 at Miller Park. (Wally Skalij/Los Angeles Times )
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David Freese’s baby crawls over the NLCS logo as the team celebrates a 5-1 win over the Brewers. (Robert Gauthier / Los Angeles Times)
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Dodgers Clayton Kershaw kisses his daughter after game seven. (Robert Gauthier / Los Angeles Times)
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Joc Pederson celebrates with Dodgers teammates after beating the Brewers 5-1 in game sevem. (Robert Gauthier / Los Angeles Times)
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Dodgers Clayton Kershaw celebrates following the National League Championship Series. (Wally Skalij/Los Angeles Times / )
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Yasiel Puig and Clayton Kershaw celebrate a 5-1 win over the Brewers in game seven. (Robert Gauthier / Los Angeles Times)
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Dodgers Manny Machado celebrate after game seven of the National League Championship Series. (Wally Skalij/Los Angeles Times / )
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Brewers shortstop Orlando Arcia tags Kiké Hernandez who is caught stealing in the seventh inning in game seven. (Robert Gauthier / Los Angeles Times)
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Dodgers Yasiel Puig celebrates after hitting a three run homer in the sixth inning. (Robert Gauthier / Los Angeles Times)
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Dodgers Yasiel Puig celebrates with teammates after hitting a three run homer in the sixth inning. (Robert Gauthier / Los Angeles Times)
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Yasiel Puig celebrates after hitting a three run homer in the sixth inning. (Robert Gauthier / Los Angeles Times)
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Yasiel Puig is pumped after hitting a three run homer in the sixth inning (Robert Gauthier / Los Angeles Times)
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Dodgers Yasiel Puig celebrates after hitting a three run homerun in the 6th inning. (Robert Gauthier / Los Angeles Times)
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Dodgers Yasiel Puig celebrates with Max Muncy after hitting a three run home run in the 6th inning. (Wally Skalij/Los Angeles Times )
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Dodgers left fielder Chris Taylor celebrates after catching a drive by Brewers Christian Yelich in the 5th inning. (Wally Skalij/Los Angeles Times )
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Dodgers relief pitcher Juan Urias throws in the fifth inning. (Wally Skalij/Los Angeles Times )
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Dodgers manager Dave Roberts pats Walker Buehler after taking him out of the game in the fifth inning. (Wally Skalij/Los Angeles Times / )
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Dodgers Walker Buehler lays down a bunt as Brewers catcher Erik Kratz looks on in the 5th inning. (Wally Skalij/Los Angeles Times / )
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Yasiel Puig misses a fourth inning double by Brewers second baseman Travis Shaw. (Robert Gauthier / Los Angeles Times)
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Brewer fans cheer on the home team during game seven. (Wally Skalij/Los Angeles Times / )
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Walker Buehler readies himself for the next batter during a budding Brewers rally in the second inning. (Robert Gauthier / Los Angeles Times)
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Dodgers Yasiel Puig celebrates hitting a second-inning double. (Robert Gauthier / Los Angeles Times)
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Cody Bellinger celebrates with Yasiel Puig after hitting a second inning, two run homer. (Robert Gauthier / Los Angeles Times)
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Cody Bellinger flexes his muscle as he rounds the bases on a second inning, two run homer. (Robert Gauthier / Los Angeles Times)
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Dodgers Cody Bellinger celebrates with Manny Machado after hitting a two run homerun the second inning. (Wally Skalij/Los Angeles Times / )
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As Brewers first baseman, Jesus Aquilar, looks on, Dodgers Cody Bellinger rounds first base after hitting a two-run home run in the second inning. (Wally Skalij/Los Angeles Times )
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Dodgers Cody Bellinger tosses the bat after hitting a two run home run in the second inning. (Wally Skalij/Los Angeles Times )
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Dodgers Cody Bellinger watches his towering home run in the second inning. (Wally Skalij/Los Angeles Times )
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Dodgers Max Muncy is out at second base as Milwaukee Brewers second baseman Travis Shaw throw to first to complete the double play in the first inning. (Wally Skalij/Los Angeles Times )
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Fans take photos with Manny Machado before Game 7. (Robert Gauthier / Los Angeles Times)
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Milwaukee Brewers Christian Yelich celebrates in the dugout after hitting a solo homerun in the first inning. (Wally Skalij/Los Angeles Times )
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Yasiel Puig can’t reach a first inning homer by Christian Yelich. (Robert Gauthier / Los Angeles Times)
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Chorizo Sausage glances at a follower as the rest of the famous racing sausages head to the main level of Miller Park before Game 7. (Robert Gauthier / Los Angeles Times)
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With the Dodgers looking on, Milwaukee Brewers Christian Yelich celebrates after hitting a solo homerun in the first inning. (Wally Skalij/Los Angeles Times )
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Dodgers’ Clayton Kershaw works out before the start of Game 7 of the National League Championship Series against the Milwaukee Brewers at Miller Park on Saturday. (Wally Skalij / Los Angeles Times)
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Dodgers pitchers Pedro Baez and Julio Urías head to the clubhouse after pregame warmups. (Robert Gauthier / Los Angeles Times)
The play was symbolic of Taylor’s utility on the Dodgers. He is a multi-positional defensive talent, the kind of asset modern baseball clubs salivate over. He began the season after a breakout performance in the playoffs last October as the Dodgers’ starting center fielder. Then he became their starting shortstop when Corey Seager was lost for the season. Then Manny Machado was acquired and Taylor’s role became fluid. He bounced around from position to position, getting starts in center field, left field, shortstop and second base through the end of the regular season.
The versatility, paramount for a club that relies on maximizing matchups throughout the game with wholesale substitutions, has continued in the playoffs. Before this year, a player had never played four positions in a single playoff game. Taylor did it twice in the NLCS, in Games 2 and 5 — while adding value at the plate. After going 0 for 2 with two walks on Saturday, he finished eight for 22 with four walks in the NLCS.
‘The fact we can plug him in anywhere on the field, he can make a move defensively during the game and then make a game-saving play,” Dodgers general manager Farhan Zaidi said. “I think that was a real testament to his value and what he brings to this team on a day-in-day-out basis.”
But Taylor’s defensive display in the fifth inning was the highlight, one that saved Urias, Roberts, and the Dodgers from grave danger.
That Urias was on the mound at all this late in the season is a minor miracle. A can’t-miss prospect when he made his major league debut in 2016 at 19 years old, Urias tore the anterior capsule in his left shoulder early last season. He hadn’t pitched in a major league game since May 2017 when he debuted this season on Sept. 15. He appeared in only three games — all blowout wins for the Dodgers — during the regular season and didn’t pitch on less than six days’ rest.
He wasn’t put on the Dodgers’ NLDS roster, but he replaced Scott Alexander for the NLCS. He surrendered a home run to Jesus Aguilar in Game 1 before he tossed a scoreless inning and was credited with the win in Game 4. The performances gave Roberts the confidence to turn to him on Saturday.
It was a gamble. Yelich had hit nearly three times as many home runs (36) as the number of batters Urias faced (13) during the regular season. But Roberts was willing to take it based on Urias’s stuff and the left-on-left matchup — and it paid off with help from the invaluable multipurpose piece the Dodgers had planted in left field.
“That was the catch of the year,” Bellinger said. “I don’t know what would happen if he doesn’t make that catch. It would have been a tie game, who knows. That was an unbelievable catch. And it was really cool to see it firsthand, right there.”
“I was trying to get to the gap and the ball kind of tailed back over my head so I had to reroute a little bit,” Taylor said. “And I’m glad I was just able to make the adjustment.”
jorge.castillo@latimes.com
Twitter: @jorgecastillo
