The Dodgers rallied for two runs in the bottom of the ninth beating St. Louis 3-2 in Game 2 of the NLDS playoffs on Thursday, taking a 2-0 series lead.
The walk-off win should have been little surprise to Los Angeles who has 41 come-from-behind victories, including 12 walk-offs this season. The Dodgers were one of the hottest teams in MLB the first half of the season, before struggling to keep the wild-card Colorado Rockies from taking the NL west division title from them with just four games remaining.
Now the Dodgers have a chance to end the series against the Cardinals in Game 3 on Saturday at Busch Stadium. The Cardinals on the other hand need a three-game winning streak. Only four teams in MLB history have come back to win a divisional series after falling behind by two games.
In their 5-3 loss in Game 1, the Cardinals didn’t help themselves, issuing eight walks and additionally hitting two Dodgers with one of the hit batters eventually scoring, and another coming with the bases loaded to force in a run.
The Dodgers should expect no such help on Saturday when starter Joel Pineiro (15-12, 3.49 ERA) toes the rubber for the Cardinals. Pineiro, has not issued a walk in 13 of his starts. In 12 others, he walked only one.
RHP Vincente Padilla (12-6, 4.46 ERA) will start on the mound for the Dodgers. Padilla is 2-1 lifetime against Cardinals and posted a win in his last appearance Oct. 4 against the Rockies.
So how has slugger Manny Ramirez factored into the Dodgers postseason success? Ramirez went 0-for-4 in Game 2 of the NL Division Series on Thursday and is now 1-for-8 in the series with a double.
Despite being down 2-0, the odds gods have the Cardinals at –1.5 favorites and a combined total of 8 ½.
Look for the Cardinals to win Game 3 three at home, before falling to the Dodgers in four.
Martz is a sports writer for the Bakersfield Californian located in Central California. Blessed is the gambler who expects nothing, for ye shall not be disappointed.
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