A.J. Ellis Thrilled Team Won Marathon Game For Dodger Fans
In a marathon thriller, the Los Angeles Dodgers came out victorious with a 5-4 win against the San Francisco Giants. The game took five hours and 29 minutes, ultimately ending in the 14th inning via the bat of Adrian Gonzalez. In all the chaos that ensued, the game ended up extending past midnight and saw a frantic crowd at Chavez Ravine dwindle down in numbers.
On a Monday night in Los Angeles, the game started off strong, but as the game went into extra innings, many fans ended up leaving Dodger Stadium. For a game that started in August and ended in September, the chase for the pennant resulted in a lot of pitching substitutions and replacements on defense. Catcher A.J. Ellis, who entered the game in the ninth inning as a pinch-hitter and replacement for Yasmani Grandal, ended up catching five innings of relief on the night.
After the game, Ellis was asked about the encouragement from the Dodger faithful and stated that he felt their presence. “I think the atmosphere gets better in those situations,” he said. “You see the people kind of trickle down. It’s almost like there are more fans getting closer to field level.”
“You can actually hear more individual voices. You can hear people cheering you on. It reminds me of a Minor League atmosphere, as far as the crowd goes. That dull buzz goes away and you hear more individual things and you can hear that individual support.”
As the Dodgers won the game, Ellis was pleased that the ball club could deliver for the fans still in attendance. “Those are great moments,” the catcher remarked. “We’re happy we could deliver for those fans who stuck around.”
The longtime rivals face off on Tuesday, with the ace Madison Bumgarner facing off against the potential Cy Young winner, Zack Greinke. The ball game is one of the most highly contested pitching match ups of the season and the Dodgers, including Ellis, understand the toughness that the Giants are composed of. “The one thing we know about the Giants is they’re resilient and they’re not going anywhere. This won’t even shake them.”
As the regular season is in the final stretch, both teams are pushing hard to secure themselves a spot in the pennant race. Tuesday’s game is slated to start at 7:10 P.M., with a Justin Turner bobble head giveaway for the fans in attendance.
