Editorials

NLDS Game 2 Recap: Greinke Throws Gem, Kemp Delivers Late

It only took two batters into Game 2 of the National League Division Series between the Los Angeles Dodgers and St. Louis Cardinals for someone to get hit by a pitch.

However, Zack Greinke’s plunking of Jon Jay was far from intentional and the outfielder did little to avoid the pitch.
Jay eventually moved into second base on a ball that A.J. Ellis momentarily couldn’t dig out of the dirt, but he was stranded by Matt Holliday and Matt Adams.



Dee Gordon’s struggles at the plate continued as he struck out and so too did Yasiel Puig. Before Puig went down swinging, he was brushed back by a high fastball from Lance Lynn and the outfielder exchanged words with Yadier Molina before being ushered to the dugout by the home plate umpire.

Hanley Ramirez’s infield single in the bottom of the second inning was the first hit for either side, but it didn’t translate to a run for the Dodgers. After walking Matt Carpenter with two outs in the third, Greinke got help from is defense as Gordon made a leaping catch on Jay’s line drive.

Ellis’ hot streak at the plate continued as he led off the bottom of the third with a double off the right-center field wall and just out of Randal Grichuk’s reach.

With Ellis standing on second base, Greinke squared around to bunt only to pull back it and hit a flare single into right field. Gordon hit a chopper to Kolten Wong that scored Ellis and was initially ruled a double play.

Dodgers manager Don Mattingly asked for a review and it was determined Wong only tagged Greinke with his glove while holding the ball in his right hand. Greinke was awarded second base and scored on Adrian Gonzalez’s two-out RBI single to give the Dodgers a 2-0 lead.

Wong’s one-out double in the fifth ended Greinke’s no-hitter, but he responded by striking out the next two batters he faced. Lynn found himself in trouble in the bottom of the inning as Greinke and Gordon hit back-to-back singles with one out to put runners on the corners.

Lynn responded by striking out Puig for the third time in the game and getting Gonzalez to fly out. Carpenter hit a leadoff double in the sixth and Greinke recorded two outs before walking Adams. Jhonny Peralta represented the go-ahead run, but struck out swinging.

The Dodgers put two runners on with no outs in the bottom of the sixth and Juan Uribe moved both of them into scoring position with a grounder to first. Lynn walked Ellis to load the bases with two outs and escaped another jam by getting Greinke to ground out.

After throwing a scoreless seventh inning, Greinke warmed up to pitch the eighth, but was replaced by J.P. Howell before facing a batter. The question mark that’s the Dodgers’ bullpen reared its ugly head as Howell gave up a leadoff single followed by a game-tying home run to Carpenter.

Jay’s infield single knocked Howell out of the game and in stepped Brandon League, who got out of the inning without allowing further damage. As quickly as the Dodgers lost the momentum, they regained it behind Matt Kemp’s go-ahead solo home run in the bottom of the eighth.

Kenley Jansen took over in the ninth and earned the save as the Dodgers won the game 3-2, and tied the series.

Staff Writer

Staff Writer features content written by our site editors along with our staff of contributing writers. Thank you for your readership.

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