ARLINGTON, Texas (AP) — Dodgers catcher Will Smith hit a thumbs up, three-run homer off the Atlanta reliever with a similar name, Corey Seager homered twice and Los Angeles evaded end with a 7-3 win over the Braves in Game 5 of the NL Championship Series on Friday night.
Smith associated in the 6th against — surprisingly — Will Smith, the fourth of six Braves pitchers in their warm up area night that began with two or three postseason firsts by A.J. Minter. Atlanta is hoping to get into the World Series unexpectedly since 1999.
Mookie Betts kicked that conclusive 6th off with an infield single, and the main year Dodger and previous AL MVP had a running, shoestring get in right field that transformed into an inning-finishing twofold play. His catch-and-throw took an Atlanta pursue off the board a replay challenge just before Seager’s first homer.
Game 6 is Saturday evening, with a pitching rematch from the arrangement opener: lefty Max Fried for the Braves and right-hander Walker Buehler for the Dodgers. Both surrendered one disagreement Game 1, which Atlanta won 5-1 after a four-run ninth.
Blake Treinen, the third of seven Dodgers pitchers and the Game 1 washout in help, pitched two ideal innings for the success. Conflicting nearer Kenley Jansen struck out the side in a non-spare circumstance to end it.
Betts had a taken base after his 6th beginning single before Justin Turner’s one-out hard grounder that got Betts trapped in an overview. The Braves at that point acquired their lefty named Will Smith to confront left-gave hitter Max Muncy, who drew a stroll before the Dodgers’ catcher named Will Smith hit a full-check pitch 404 feet to left-place for a 4-2 lead.
It was the first run through since in any event 1961 that a hitter homered off a pitcher with a similar name in the standard season or postseason, as indicated by the Elias Sports Bureau.
The Dodgers expanded their lead in the seventh when Chris Taylor hit a two-out twofold, and scored on a solitary by Betts before Seager hit a ball into LA’s warm up area in right-focus.
Seager’s four homers and 10 RBIs have effectively tied NLCS records, with at any rate one more game for the Dodgers to play — two on the off chance that they need an opportunity to get to the World Series for the third time in four years.
Taylor later seemed to turn a lower leg in left field during the eighth inning yet stayed in the game.
Minter struck out seven of the 10 hitters he looked as the principal pitcher in MLB history whose first beginning arrived in a postseason game. The fourth-year major leaguer turned into the primary pitcher — starter or reliever — with seven strikeouts in three innings or less in a postseason game. He had just coordinated his vocation high before striking out the side — all on called third strikes — in the third before leaving with a 2-0 lead.
After Marcell Ozuna and Travis d’Arnaud had sequential singles to begin the third for Atlanta, there was one out when Dansby Swanson hit a sinking liner to right. Betts made a running catch, with his glove skimming the ground before his toss home was late. Yet, the Dodgers tested that Ozuna that left third base early — and it turned into the Braves third out rather than their third run.
Umpires and the off-site replay group required almost two minutes to make their decision, however Dodgers defenders — and even Braves sprinters — had just left the field subsequent to watching the play on the large video board.
Just from that point forward, Seager’s leadoff homer to immediately focus in the fourth slice the Dodgers shortage to 2-1.
Freshman focus defender Cristian Pache made a jumping attempt at the divider, however the ball went simply behind his all-inclusive glove. In any case, Pache planned things up in the eighth, denying Muncy of a homer with an almost indistinguishable play.
The Braves scored in the two innings off LA starter Dustin May. Freddie Freeman multiplied, went to third and scored on d’Arnaud’s fielder’s choice in the first, and Pache had a RBI single in the second. D’Arnaud included a RBI groundout in the eighth.