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Dodgers take control, Nationals level series

Dodgers take control, Nationals level series

The Los Angeles Dodgers are a win away from the National League Championship Series (NLCS) after beating the Arizona Diamondbacks, while the Washington Nationals levelled their series.

Rich Hill was good enough for the Dodgers, while Robbie Ray was not his usual self as the Diamondbacks were beaten 8-5 on Saturday.

The result saw the Dodgers grab a 2-0 lead in the best-of-five National League Division Series (NLDS).

The other NLDS is tied at 1-1 between Chicago and Washington after the Nationals claimed a 6-3 win in game two.

 

DIAMONDBACKS PLANNED FOR RAY WIN

The Diamondbacks planned for Ray to win game two, but he did not.

Ray has always been an effectively wild pitcher as he tied for 10th in the league in walks with 71, but this was another level of wild. The 26-year-old had three wild pitches which was the second most in a postseason game in MLB history. After allowing eight earned runs in 31.2 innings against the Dodgers this season he allowed four in 4.1 innings Saturday.

 

PUIG LOVING BASEBALL

Plenty of people were not happy with Yasiel Puig again and it was all because of one play.

The play came in the fourth inning when Puig smoked a ball to center field for a single. It was not a home run, it was not an extra base hit, it did not even plate a run, but Puig bat-flipped and flaunted his hit all the way down the baseline and people hated it.

NATIONALS' BULLPEN INVESTMENT PAYING OFF

If the Nationals had any weaknesses through the first half of the season it was their bullpen. So at the trade deadline they addressed it by adding Brandon Kintzler from the Minnesota Twins and Sean Doolittle and Ryan Madson from the Oakland Athletics.

Through two games and six innings of work by the bullpen the Nationals have allowed just one run. In their game two win, Washington got four shut-out innings from their relievers and did not even have to use Kintzler. The great work by the bullpen gave Bryce Harper and Ryan Zimmerman the opportunity to make their home runs count.

ASTROS, INDIANS LOOK TO SEAL SERIES WINS

The Houston Astros and Brad Peacock (13-2) take a 2-0 American League Division Series (ALDS) lead to Boston, where the Red Sox will look to Doug Fister (5-9) to get them back into the series.

The Cleveland Indians can also wrap up their series against the New York Yankees as Carlos Carrasco (18-6) and Masahiro Tanaka (13-12) do battle.