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The Los Angeles Dodgers faced elimination Tuesday afternoon at home, but they forced a decisive Game 5 against the Washington Nationals with a 6-5 win thanks to a game-winning RBI single from Chase Utley in the eighth inning.  

Joe Blanton notched the win after he pitched 1.1 no-hit innings on the heels of a tumultuous seventh-inning sequence. Starter Clayton Kershaw (11 strikeouts, two walks, seven hits in 6.2 IP) was superb on short rest even though he struggled with his command early. 

Trea Turner and Bryce Harper led off the top of the first by reaching base, and Daniel Murphy rolled a single into right field with one out to score Turner to put the Dodgers in a rare early hole with Kershaw starting, according to Inside Edge on Twitter: 

By the time the top half of the opening frame came to a close, Kershaw had tossed 27 pitches. As ESPN.com’s Eddie Matz explained, those inefficiencies didn’t bode well for the Dodgers: 

With L.A. in need of a spark following Kershaw’s sluggish start, Adrian Gonzalez delivered. 

After Justin Turner was hit by a pitch, Gonzalez stepped up and crushed a two-run home run to right field when starter Joe Ross let a fastball cut back over the plate up in the zone: 

The Nationals proceeded to tie things in the third on a Murphy sac fly that scored Turner, but things didn’t remain deadlocked for long. 

Ross gave up two hits, two runs and two walks in the third inning, and manager Dusty Baker pulled the 23-year-old after he drilled Joc Pederson with the bases load to give the Dodgers a 4-2 lead. 

All told, Ross managed three strikeouts and two walks while allowing three hits and four earned runs in 2.2 innings. 

Conversely, Kershaw was able to settle down. 

The three-time Cy Young Award winner retired the side in order in the fourth and fifth innings, and in doing so he was able to stabilize his pitch count, according to the Southern California News Group’s J.P. Hoornstra: 

And as the ace found his groove, the Dodgers offense continued to churn out runs. 

Pederson smacked a double to left field that scored Josh Reddick from first, and the RBI that gave Los Angeles a 5-2 lead represented a breakthrough for the Dodgers, according to MASN’s Mark Zuckerman: 

While the Nationals searched for answers, Kershaw looked sharp. 

The southpaw—who entered Tuesday with a 1.89 ERA in three starts on short rest, per MLB.com—notched 10 strikeouts by the time the sixth inning was over, which marked the fourth time in Kershaw’s postseason career that he tallied double-digit K’s, according to Jon Weisman of the team’s official blog and magazine. 

Those numbers were stellar considering Kershaw was on the mound just four days earlier, but things unraveled some in the seventh inning. 

Kershaw was pulled with two outs in the seventh after he loaded the bases, and the bullpen couldn’t work out of the jam. Pedro Baez plunked Werth to make it a 5-3 game, and Murphy tied things up with a two-run single off Luis Avilan.

Yahoo Sports’ Big League Stew noted Murphy has been a virtuoso at the plate in big spots: 

The Dodgers could have folded at that point, but they stood tall and delivered in the eighth inning.

After Andrew Toles was hit by a pitch and Andre Either notched a pinch-hit single, Utley stepped to the plate and drove in the go-ahead run to propel the Dodgers to within a game of the NLCS.

The Dodgers will now travel back to the nation’s capital with momentum in hand after they staved off elimination in pursuit of their first National League Championship Series appearance since 2013. 

The Nationals, meanwhile, will need to put Tuesday’s loss in the rearview mirror as they seek the franchise’s first NLCS appearance since moving to Washington. 

And if Murphy, Werth and Turner can continue to buoy the offense and force a shaky Dodgers bullpen into action early, the NL East champions could be in position to exorcise their postseason demons and send the Dodgers packing. 

Postgame Reaction

Once the Dodgers put the finishing touches on their Game 4 win, the team’s official Twitter account relayed video of their celebration: 

“Man, that was a hard-fought game on both sides,” Baker said, according to Weisman.

Looking ahead, Baker told reporters he’s glad his team won’t have to face Kershaw again this season, according to True Blue LA’s Eric Stephen: 

However, the Nationals will have to face Rich Hill, according to the Los Angeles Times‘ Andy McCullough: 

The Nationals, on the other hand, will counter with Max Scherzer, according to the Washington Post‘s Jorge Castillo. 

“Biggest start of my career,” Scherzer said, according to MASN’s Dan Kolko. “Biggest start of my life.” 

“It’s gonna be a heck of an experience,” he added, per Kolko. “It comes down to one game. Winner-take-all.”

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The Chicago Cubs have moved a step closer to ending its 108-year title drought, while at the same time putting an end to the San Francisco Giants’ even-year magic.

The Cubs scored four runs in the top of the ninth inning to win 6-5, clinching the National League Division Series win in four games. Javier Baez’s RBI single scored Jason Heyward for the game-winning run, but before that Ben Zobrist had an RBI double and Willson Contreras added a two-run single as a pinch hitter.

Chicago forced the Giants to use five pitchers in the ninth, scoring three times before recording an out. Before that, San Francisco starter Matt Moore had been electric with 10 strikeouts and only two hits allowed in eight innings.

San Francisco built a 5-2 lead in the bottom of the fifth on an RBI single from Conor Gillaspie and a sacrifice fly from Joe Panik. Three Giants runs cameon outs, two on sac flies and another on an RBI groundout. The fifth runs came when pitcher Moore singled with the bases loaded in the fourth to help his own cause.

The Cubs got their earlier runs on a solo home run from David Ross in the second and a sacrifice fly from Ross in the fifth.

Hector Rondon, the fifth of six Cubs pitchers, picked up the win in relief of starter John Lackey who was pulled after allowing three runs in four innings. Aroldis Chapman struck out the side for the save, a night after he blew a save during the Giants’ 13-inning victory that extended the series.

The Cubs will host either the Los Angeles Dodgers or Washington Nationals, who meet Thursday in Game 5 of their NLDS, on Saturday in the National League Championship Series.

Scroll down for all of our real-time updates, analysis, statistics, tweets, pictures and everything else worth noting from AT&T Park in San Francisco.

Follow Brian J. Pedersen on Twitter at @realBJP.

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If the San Francisco Giants continue their even-year magic in 2016, they will likely look back on Monday as one of the craziest games in their journey. 

The 2010, 2012 and 2014 World Series champions kept their dreams alive with a 6-5 victory over the Chicago Cubs in a 13-inning thriller at AT&T Park. Chicago still leads the National League Division Series 2-1, but Joe Panik played the role of hero with a game-winning blast off the wall that scored Brandon Crawford. 

Fox Sports MLB pointed out that the Giants are nearly impossible to eliminate with their backs against the wall:

There were plenty of heroics to go around outside of Panik’s game-winner. Cubs third baseman Kris Bryant connected with a two-run homer in the ninth off Giants closer Sergio Romo with his team trailing 5-3 to force the marathon extra innings.  

ESPN Stats & Info noted the blown save was nothing new for San Francisco:

The Cubs likely would have won in nine were it not for another clutch performance from Conor Gillaspie. He drilled a home run in his team’s National League Wild Card Game victory over the New York Mets and saved San Francisco’s season with a two-RBI triple against Aroldis Chapman in the eighth inning.

Chicago held a narrow 3-2 lead at the time, but Gillaspie drove the ball to plate both runners. Jeff Passan of Yahoo Sports noted how unlikely the moment was on the marquee stage:

Perhaps the most surprising thing was the fact that Madison Bumgarner was not the one who served as the postseason hero in Game 3. The southpaw started the game and allowed three earned runs and seven hits in just five innings and didn’t resemble the clutch performer who earned a shutout win in the Wild Card Game and won the 2014 World Series MVP.

The three runs he allowed came off a Jake Arrieta three-run homer in the second inning.

Chicago’s starter was solid on the mound as well and allowed two earned runs and struck out five in six innings of work. He did enough to win, but Chapman, Hector Rondon and Travis Wood couldn’t lock it down in the fateful eighth.

The Cubs wasted little time getting to Bumgarner when Arrieta hit that home run. Ryan Baker of CBS Chicago said it snapped Bumgarner’s streak of 24 scoreless postseason innings, while Amy Lawrence of CBS Sports Radio noted it was the first time the Giants southpaw allowed a single earned run in a playoff elimination game.

Chicago received two RBI from Kyle Hendricks and a solo homer from Wood in Game 2, and ESPN Stats & Info underscored how effective the pitchers have been at the plate:

The Cubs threatened again in the third with runners on the corner and a single out, but Bumgarner struck out Javier Baez and retired Miguel Montero. He kept the Giants within striking distance early by escaping trouble, and his offense rewarded him in the bottom of the frame when Denard Span doubled and scored on a Buster Posey single.

While the Giants still found themselves behind, Bumgarner settled in after a slow start and kept Chicago at three runs through five innings. His pitch count was elevated to 101, and manager Bruce Bochy elected to pinch hit Eduardo Nunez in the pitcher’s spot to lead off the bottom of the fifth.

Nunez grounded out, but the top of the San Francisco order did some damage. Span tripled and scored on Brandon Belt’s sacrifice fly to cut the deficit to 3-2.

Arrieta bounced back and worked a 1-2-3 sixth, but he received some help on Baez’s spectacular backhanded play to retire Gillaspie. Anthony Rizzo’s foot appeared to come off the base on the throw, but the call stood after review.

Jonah Keri of CBS Sports described the sequence:

Despite the call, Derek Law kept the Giants within a single run with two scoreless innings, and Hunter Strickland added a shutout eighth for San Francisco and positioned it for the dramatic comeback.

Pedro Strop countered with two quick outs as the first Chicago reliever in the seventh. However, Wood allowed a single to Belt in the eighth, and Rondon walked Posey before Maddon turned to Chapman with two runners on and nobody out.

The fireballer struck out Hunter Pence but gave up the bases-clearing triple to Gillaspie and an RBI single to Crawford. By the time Chapman left the game, the Giants had a 5-3 lead and runners on the corners with just one out.

Jesse Rogers of ESPN Chicago raised an interesting point after Chapman’s struggles:

Justin Grimm kept the score at 5-3, which proved critical when Bryant connected with his game-tying homer. ESPN Stats & Info highlighted just how close the long ball was to not making it over the fence:

Jerry Palm of CBS Sports joked it was unusual to see a Chicago hitter outside of the pitchers come through at the plate:

Mike Montgomery forced extras with a scoreless ninth, but it only happened when Albert Almora Jr. made a diving stop on Posey’s sinking line drive and doubled off Belt from first base. 

Romo redeemed himself with a perfect 10th that included two strikeouts, but Montgomery matched him and pushed the back-and-forth affair to the 11th. The Cubs offense couldn’t do anything against Will Smith or Ty Blach in the 11th and 12th, but Montgomery continued to shut down the Giants and extend the contest.

Chicago threatened in the 13th with two runners on, but David Ross grounded into a double play. 

Montgomery’s scoreless streak came to an end in his fifth inning, as Crawford doubled and scored on Panik’s blast to keep San Francisco’s season alive.

What’s Next?

Game 4 is Tuesday in San Francisco.

The Giants have a chance to tie the series and send it back to Chicago for a do-or-die Game 5, where Johnny Cueto will likely start with Bumgarner as a possible option out of the bullpen. The Cubs will want to attack Matt Moore in Game 4 to avoid that scenario and will counter with veteran John Lackey.

Lackey has 23 postseason appearances under his belt and a solid 3.11 ERA in those games, but this will be his first in a Chicago uniform. If he turns in a noteworthy performance, the Cubs will find themselves in the National League Championship Series.

Postgame Reaction

Although things looked bleak for the Giants at various points throughout Game 3, especially when Chicago tied it in the ninth, Panik discussed the team’s never-say-die attitude following the crucial victory, according to ESPN.com’s Mark Saxon: “If we’re breathing, we’re still fighting.”

The Giants have been unbeatable in elimination games over the past several years, and Arrieta is well aware that it will take a massive effort to oust them, per MLB.com’s Chris Haft and Carrie Muskat: “This is October baseball. We know games are going to be very closely contested. [The Giants] are no slouch with their pedigree in the playoffs. We have our work cut out for us.”

While the loss was a disappointing one for a Cubs team that is trying to exorcise more than a century of postseason demons, Maddon remained upbeat following the defeat, according to David Haugh of the Chicago Tribune: “Both sides should be somewhat exhilarated There’s nothing on our side to be ashamed of.”

Bochy also had a positive outlook on the game and was impressed with the manner in which his team dug deep to come out on top, per John Shea of the San Francisco Chronicle: “It was one of the best, most exciting games I’ve ever been involved in. They found a way. The game had everything: pitching, timely hitting on both sides. It was just a fun game to be involved with.”

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The Cleveland Indians haven’t won the World Series since 1948, while the Boston Red Sox boast three championships since 2004.

Baseball fans would have never guessed it during their American League Division Series.

Cleveland finished its three-game sweep with a 4-3 victory at Fenway Park on Monday. Starting pitcher Josh Tomlin allowed just two earned runs with four strikeouts in five quality innings, and the bullpen combination of Andrew Miller, Bryan Shaw and Cody Allen closed the door.

Tyler Naquin’s two-run single in the fourth inning and Coco Crisp’s two-run homer in the sixth provided enough run support for the Indians bullpen, which allowed just one run in four innings.

ESPN Stats & Info noted it wasn’t the first time Cleveland handled Boston in October:

The Red Sox put two runners on in the ninth but couldn’t come through, as Travis Shaw flied out to end the game. David Ortiz had a sacrifice fly and two walks in the final game of his career, while Hanley Ramirez and Andrew Benintendi each added an RBI.

Boston starting pitcher Clay Buchholz lasted just four innings, allowing two earned runs, and Drew Pomeranz gave up the long ball to Crisp.

While it wasn’t the ending he wanted, Ortiz leaves the game with a remarkable resume:

Things started ominously for the Red Sox when Carlos Santana hit a towering pop-up down the third base line to lead off the game. The wind blew the ball into fair territory, and shortstop Xander Bogaerts couldn’t make the play. Buchholz, however, prevented any damage by retiring Mike Napoli and Jose Ramirez after Francisco Lindor singled with one out.

Boston put a runner in scoring position in the second, and Cleveland did the same in the third, but the two starters escaped trouble.

Nick Friar of CSNNE.com questioned the Red Sox’s offensive strategy against Tomlin:

The Indians broke through in the fourth. After Ramirez singled and Lonnie Chisenhall walked, Naquin drove them in with a single following Crisp’s sacrifice bunt. Cleveland may have scored more than two runs if Dustin Pedroia hadn’t made a diving stop on Roberto Perez’s hard-hit, one-out grounder.

ESPN Stats & Info noted Naquin was an unlikely run-producer given his recent struggles:

Boston manager John Farrell gave the ball to Pomeranz to start the fifth. He retired the Indians 1-2-3, and the Red Sox got on the board in the bottom of the frame.

After Bogaerts singled with one out, he scored when Benintendi drilled a double off the Green Monster. But Tomlin limited the damage to just one run by striking out Sandy Leon and inducing a groundout from Jackie Bradley Jr.

Jordan Bastian of MLB.com praised the right-hander’s performance:

Pomeranz opened the sixth by walking Ramirez, and Crisp launched his two-run homer two batters later. Grant Brisbee of the McCovey Chronicles pointed out a dichotomy between the teams’ rosters:

After Pedroia singled to start the bottom of the sixth, Cleveland manager Terry Francona turned to Miller and his 1.45 ERA and 0.69 WHIP. The southpaw wasn’t his normal dominant self right away, as he allowed a double to Mookie Betts and sacrifice fly to Ortiz.

But Miller struck out Ramirez with Betts on second base to preserve the Indians’ 4-2 lead.

Joe Kelly pitched a 1-2-3 seventh for Boston, but Miller countered with a scoreless bottom half. Daren Willman of MLB.com illustrated how Miller kept the Red Sox lineup at bay and carried his team to within two innings of a sweep:

Koji Uehara did his part for Boston in the eighth thanks largely to a terrific over-the-shoulder catch by Betts and an impressive barehanded play by Bogaerts, and the Red Sox cut into the lead in the bottom of the frame.

Shaw entered and retired Pedroia and Betts but also allowed a one-out single to Shaw. Allen then came on and walked Ortiz on four pitches and gave up an RBI single to Ramirez. He held on to the lead, though, by retiring Bogaerts on a sharply hit line drive to second.

Bastian noted how close Boston came to tying the game:

In the bottom of the ninth, Allen surrendered a two-out single to Bradley and a walk to Pedroia before getting Shaw to end the game.

After the game, the Fenway Park crowd chanted “Papi! Papi!” and “Thank you, Papi!”

What’s Next?

The Indians will face the Toronto Blue Jays in the American League Championship Series, which starts Friday in Cleveland.

The Blue Jays are a perfect 4-0 in the postseason with an 11-inning Wild Card Game win over the Baltimore Orioles and a sweep of the Texas Rangers in their ALDS under their belt. The Indians were 4-3 against Toronto in the regular season, including a 19-inning victory at the Rogers Centre on July 1.

Cleveland will have to deal with a loaded lineup that finished fourth in the majors in home runs and features Josh Donaldson, Edwin Encarnacion and Jose Bautista. If the Indians are going to reach their first World Series since 1997, they’ll need to limit the Blue Jays’ powerful bats—just like they did to the Red Sox.

Postgame Reaction

Betts noted that many of Boston’s outs were hard-hit, per Brian MacPherson of the Providence Journal: “We’re producers, not directors.”

Ortiz saluted the crowd:

Sean McAdam of CSNNE.com said Ortiz was in tears, and the slugger addressed the moment, per MacPherson: “I’ve been trying to hold my emotions the best I can. That last second, I couldn’t hold it no more.”

Lindor described the journey as far from over, per Nick Camino of WTAM 1100 in Cleveland: “We’ve got a long way to go still. We’ve got a long way to go.”

Indians second baseman Jason Kipnis provided a glimpse into Cleveland’s mindset, per Camino: “We think it’s our turn.”

It certainly was Monday.

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The Washington Nationals own a 2-1 lead in their National League Division Series after an 8-3 win over the Los Angeles Dodgers at Dodger Stadium on Monday.

Nationals left fielder Jayson Werth delivered in a big way, going 3-for-4 with two runs batted in and two runs scored.

Werth and the Washington offense delivered as starter Gio Gonzalez lasted only 4.1 innings. The veteran left-hander exited after surrendering three earned runs on four hits and one walk. He struck out four.

Dodgers starter Kenta Maeda struggled in the first postseason start of his MLB career. Over three innings, he allowed four earned runs on five hits, two walks and a hit batter while striking out four.

Command was an issue for Maeda, who threw 63 pitches. The Los Angeles Times‘ Andy McCullough opined that home plate umpire Ron Kulpa squeezed the strike zone:

The game began brightly for the Dodgers.

For the third contest in a row, rookie shortstop Corey Seager drove in the first run of the game. After homering in Games 1 and 2, he doubled to right-center field to plate third baseman Justin Turner.

MLB Network shared a replay of the extra-base hit:

The McCovey Chronicles’ Grant Brisbee isn’t looking forward to seeing Seager in the National League West for the foreseeable future:

Maeda averted damage in the first inning, striking out Nationals first baseman Ryan Zimmerman with the bases loaded and two outs. In the third, the rookie right-hander wasn’t so lucky, as Washington scored four runs to take a 4-1 lead.

Center fielder Trea Turner led off with a single to center, and Werth doubled into the right field corner to get the Nationals on the board. The New York Times‘ James Wagner thought Turner showed tremendous speed by scoring from first base:

After second baseman Daniel Murphy flied out, right fielder Bryce Harper scored Werth with a single to right. Third baseman Anthony Rendon then stepped to the plate and hammered a fastball over the left-center field wall.

MLB Network provided a second look at the homer:

MLB.com’s Daren Willman showed Maeda couldn’t have done a worse job placing the two-seamer:

In the bottom of the fifth, Dodgers manager Dave Roberts opted to use Carlos Ruiz to pinch hit for reliever Pedro Baez, who had replaced Maeda to start the fourth. In 14 regular-season games with Los Angeles after being traded by the Philadelphia Phillies, Ruiz didn’t hit a single home run and slugged .333.

After the August deal, Fox Sports’ Ken Rosenthal reported the Dodgers thought Ruiz could strengthen their lineup against left-handed pitching. The 37-year-old justified the trade when he hit a two-run home run to bring Los Angeles within a run.

According to ESPN Stats & Info, it was the Dodgers’ first pinch-hit homer in a postseason home game since Kirk Gibson’s walk-off home run in Game 1 of the 1988 World Series.

The drive jolted the crowd, and the Los Angeles Times‘ Lindsey Thiry shared a clip of the fans’ reaction:

Sammy Solis replaced Gonzalez and quieted the crowd a bit when he got left fielder Howie Kendrick to ground out to second. After Justin Turner walked, Seager brought the fans to their feet with a long fly ball to center field, but it was well short of the wall and landed in the glove of Trea Turner.

The trio of Solis, Oliver Perez and Shawn Kelley did well to shut down the Dodgers offense, allowing just two hits and one walk while striking out five over 3.2 innings.

In the top of the ninth, Werth put another run on the board for Washington with a solo homer to left field.

NFL Network’s Andrew Siciliano noted Werth joined elite company with the homer:

It was a surprising misstep by Los Angeles closer Kenley Jansen, who surrendered only four home runs in 68.2 innings during the regular season.

The trouble continued for Jansen, as he walked Murphy and hit Harper. Rendon then popped out, but Zimmerman followed with a two-run double to right field and moved to third when second baseman Chase Utley tried to throw Harper out at home.

ESPN.com’s David Schoenfield pointed out Jansen faltered in high-pressure moments this year:

Ross Stripling took over for Jansen and surrendered a sacrifice fly to pinch hitter Chris Heisey to make it an 8-3 game. It was the fourth run charged to Jansen. Rarely has the 29-year-old unraveled to such an extent, per Fox Sports’ C.J. Nitkowski:

The five-run lead was more than enough for Nationals closer Mark Melancon, who retired the Dodgers in order to end the game.

Julio Urias is scheduled to pitch for Los Angeles in Game 4, though McCullough reported Sunday that ace Clayton Kershaw, who won Game 1, could start. MLB.com’s Ken Gurnick added more information Monday:

Ideally, the Dodgers would hold Kershaw back so he can pitch Game 5 on Thursday with five days’ rest.

But Los Angeles has to win Game 4 on Tuesday in order to get there, so Roberts may not want to leave his best pitcher on the bench in a must-win situation. In addition, relying on a 20-year-old rookie in a critical playoff game could be risky—though Urias was 5-2 with a 3.17 FIP in the regular season, according to Baseball-Reference.com.

Roberts has a difficult decision on his hands as he looks to keep the Dodgers alive.

Postgame Reaction

Werth said the continuity of Washington’s roster is paying dividends in the postseason, per Gurnick and Jamal Collier of MLB.com:

We’re a resilient club. We’ve got a good group of guys. The nucleus of this club has been together a long time. We’ve got a lot of chemistry and all that stuff, but we’ve been doing it for years over here. We’ve come from behind to win a lot of games. We’ve been one of the game’s best teams the past four or five years as far as wins go. So we know how to play, how to win. I like our chances.

Roberts declined to name a starter for Game 4.

“The use of the pen today, no off day tomorrow, those are things we’re going to keep in mind,” he said, according to Jon Weisman of Dodger Insider.

Gurnick reported Roberts is unsure about starting Kershaw in Game 4 because he’d then have to use Urias on the road in Game 5.

Nationals manager Dusty Baker said his starter for Game 4 will be either Joe Ross or Reynaldo Lopez, per Collier.

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It took a little more than five hours, but the San Francisco Giants managed to hold off elimination for at least one night.

Joe Panik’s double off the right field wall in the bottom of the 13th scored Brandon Crawford, who had doubled to lead off the inning, to give the Giants a 6-5 win over the Chicago Cubs in a game that saw both teams rally late to force extra innings.

The Cubs, who won the first two games of the National League Division Series in Chicago, led 3-0 thanks to a three-run home run in the second from starting pitcher Jake Arrieta coming off Madison Bumgarner. Bumgarner lasted only five innings, while Arrieta was out after six while giving up single runs in the third and fifth.

It stayed that way until the eighth when, after the Cubs turned to closer Aroldis Chapman for a six-out save, Conor Gillaspie sparked a three-run inning with a two-run triple to go up 5-3.

The Cubs tied it in the ninth on Kris Bryant’s two-run homer off SF closer Sergio Romo, then it was a scoreless battle until the 13th.

Game 4 is set for 8:30 p.m. ET in San Francisco, with Matt Moore going for the Giants against Chicago’s Jon Lackey.

Scroll down for all of our real-time updates, statistics, analysis, pictures, tweets and anything else worth noting from San Francisco.

Follow Brian J. Pedersen on Twitter at @realBJP.

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A wild play in the bottom of the 10th inning helped the Toronto Blue Jays complete a three-game sweep of the Texas Rangers with a 7-6 win in Game 3 to close out the American League Division Series on Sunday.

With two runners on and the score tied at 6-6, Russell Martin hit a potential inning-ending double-play ball to shortstop. However, Rougned Odor’s throw to first base was off and Josh Donaldson raced home for the walk-off victory:

The run put the Blue Jays in rare company, per ESPN Stats & Info:

Even Canadian Prime Minister Justin Trudeau chimed in on the victory:

Britt McHenry of ESPN believes this is just the start for Toronto:

It was not a great night for pitching, as both starters struggled on the mound. Rangers pitcher Colby Lewis couldn’t get an out in the third inning, allowing five runs in 2.0 innings of work. Blue Jays starter Aaron Sanchez lasted 5.2 innings, but he was charged with six runs.

Mike Peasley of ESPN Radio praised the relievers on both sides, who performed better:

The Texas bullpen allowed only two unearned runs in 7.2 innings, while Toronto’s squad threw 4.1 scoreless innings.

However, the Blue Jays came through when it mattered in the 10th inning.

The Rangers got on the board without even recording a hit in the first inning. Carlos Gomez walked and eventually came home on a Carlos Beltran groundout.

However, the Blue Jays took control of the game thanks to first-inning home runs by Edwin Encarnacion and Russell Martin.

Alykhan K. Ravjiani of MLB.com broke down the impressive numbers on Encarnacion’s homer:

Martin also broke a rough stretch in the postseason, as Jeff Passan of Yahoo Sports noted:

After an Elvis Andrus home run cut the Rangers’ deficit to 3-2 in the top of the third, the Blue Jays offense again came through with RBI hits by Josh Donaldson and Encarnacion to extend the lead to 5-2 in the bottom half of the inning.

The third inning got the Toronto crowd feeling excited about potentially clinching the series. The game was far from over, though.

Odor lived up to his role as the villain in Toronto by blasting a two-run home run to cut the deficit to 5-4 in the top of the fourth.

Gregor Chisholm of MLB.com noted the mood of the stadium:

Texas took the lead in the sixth inning on a two-run double by Mitch Moreland.

Barry Davis of Sportsnet noted how close Moreland’s hit was to being caught:

Nomar Mazara then made a great catch with runners on to keep Toronto from regaining the lead in the bottom of the sixth. Mazara’s play came immediately after Troy Tulowitzki tied things up at 6-6 on a passed ball.

Evan Grant of the Dallas Morning News questioned All-Star catcher Jonathan Lucroy’s defense:

The bullpens stepped up, though, as the game remained tied for the next three innings.

Donaldson started the Blue Jays’ rally in the 10th with a leadoff double, and he eventually came through with the game-winning run a few batters later, helping Toronto into the next round.

The Blue Jays’ win sent them to the American League Championship Series, where they will face the winner of the ALDS battle between the Cleveland Indians and Boston Red Sox. Game 3 in that series was postponed, but the Indians hold a 2-0 lead and can clinch Monday.

Game 1 of the ALCS is set for Friday.

Post-Game Reaction

The bullpens were a big story of this game with Toronto closer Roberto Osuna pitching two shutout innings and earning the win. Donaldson was happy with his teammate’s performance, per Ben Nicholson-Smith of Sportsnet:

Meanwhile, Rangers manager Jeff Banister had to give credit where it was due after the series, per Newy Scruggs of NBC Sports:

Follow Rob Goldberg on Twitter.

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The Washington Nationals leveled their National League Division Series against the Los Angeles Dodgers with a 5-2 victory in Game 2 at Nationals Park on Sunday.

Neither starting pitcher made it through the fifth inning, which Fox Sports’ C.J. Nitkowski pointed out has been a trend during the postseason:

Los Angeles’ Rich Hill started strong but faded, going 4.1 innings and allowing four earned runs on six hits, two walks and two hit batsmen with seven strikeouts. Washington’s Tanner Roark, on the other hand, sputtered out of the gate but settled down, surrendering two earned runs on seven hits, three walks and a hit batsman in 4.1 innings.

The second batter of the game, Dodgers shortstop Corey Seager, deposited a 3-0 fastball over the wall in right-center field to give Los Angeles a 1-0 lead.

The 22-year-old also homered in the first inning of Game 1 of the NLDS, becoming the first Dodgers player since Juan Uribe and Carl Crawford in 2013 to hit home runs in back-to-back postseason games, according to Eric Stephen of True Blue L.A.

The Southern California News Group’s J.P. Hoornstra noted Nationals fans didn’t hold back their feelings after Seager’s solo homer:

Los Angeles loaded the bases with one out in the second, but Roark got Hill to strike out swinging and Chase Utley to ground out to end the threat.

In the bottom of the frame, Washington loaded the bases with one out, but Nationals catcher Jose Lobaton grounded back to Hill for a 1-2-3 double play to end the inning. The veteran left-hander knew he had averted disaster, according to ESPN.com’s J.A. Adande:

Lobaton gained a measure of revenge, however, in the bottom half of the fourth.

After the Dodgers had doubled their lead on a single by Josh Reddick in the third, Hill walked Daniel Murphy and hit Danny Espinosa to put runners on first and second with two outs. Lobaton then emptied the bases with a three-run home run to left field.

The Washington Post‘s Chelsea Janes noted the homer was only Lobaton’s second hit against a left-hander all year.

Baseball writer Joe Sheehan pointed out how ridiculous the sport can be sometimes:

Another industry pundit, Jonah Keri, had to reverse course on a piece in which he was praising Hill’s work:

Los Angeles failed to capitalize on another golden opportunity a half-inning later. With two on and one out, Marc Rzepczynski relieved Roark and walked Yasiel Puig to load the bases. The left-hander escaped damage by striking out Yasmani Grandal and getting Howie Kendrick to line out to Jayson Werth in left field.

Leaving men on base was a major problem for the Dodgers, as MLB.com’s Jamal Collier noted:

Washington added to its lead in its next turn at the plate. After Trea Turner and Bryce Harper led off the bottom of the fifth with singles, Murphy plated Turner with one out to make it 4-2.

Kendrick kept the score there, however, throwing out Harper at the plate as he attempted to tag up on Anthony Rendon’s fly ball to left. ESPN.com’s Doug Padilla praised the left fielder:

After a two-out double by Werth in the seventh, Murphy provided insurance with an RBI single to left, which brought an MVP chant from the home fans, per Anthony DiComo of MLB.com:

After relievers Sammy Solis, Blake Treinen and Oliver Perez combined for 2.1 perfect innings, Nationals closer Mark Melancon shut the door in the ninth to secure the win.

Since rain pushed Game 2 from Saturday to Sunday, Washington and Los Angeles won’t have a day off as the series shifts west. The first pitch of Game 3 is scheduled for 4 p.m. ET Monday at Dodger Stadium.

Gio Gonzalez will take the mound for the Nationals, while Kenta Maeda will get the nod for Los Angeles. The matchup doesn’t favor either team, as Gonzalez was 11-11 with a 3.76 FIP in the regular season and Maeda finished 16-11 with a 3.58 FIP, according to Baseball-Reference.com—though the Dodgers have struggled against lefties this year, slashing .213/.290/.332 compared to .264/.331/.441 against righties.

Postgame Reaction

“This falls solely on me,” Hill said, according to Ken Gurnick of MLB.com. “I believe we’re tied in the series because I didn’t execute.”

Seager added he and his fellow Dodgers hitters “missed the big hit,” per Gurnick.

Werth thought Lobaton’s three-run homer was a turning point for Washington, saying it “kind of felt like a monkey came off our back,” according to MASN’s Dan Kolko.

“I’m just so happy for Loby, man. He really deserves it,” Ryan Zimmerman said, per CSN Mid-Atlantic’s Chase Hughes. “He stays ready, works hard every day. Now he’s got an opportunity.”

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Game 2 of the National League Division Series may not have gone as planned for the Chicago Cubs, but they earned a 5-2 victory over the San Francisco Giants and took a commanding 2-0 series lead Saturday at Wrigley Field. 

Cubs starter Kyle Hendricks caused mass panic in Chicago when he exited in the top of the fourth inning after taking a line drive to his right (pitching) arm off the bat of Angel Pagan. 

Carrie Muskat of MLB.com reported Hendricks left with a right forearm contusion and was being evaluated. He led Major League Baseball with a 2.13 ERA and finished second with a 0.98 WHIP during the regular season. 

The Cubs could have an issue if Hendricks has to miss a start, though the good news is the team announced his X-rays came back negative.

Jon Lester was brilliant with eight scoreless innings in Game 1, but Game 3 starter Jake Arrieta struggled with a 3.69 ERA in the second half. Expected Game 4 starter John Lackey had a 2.76 ERA in the second half, though he only started 11 games due to injuries. 

Prior to leaving, Hendricks was having an outing to remember in an unexpected way with this two-run single in the second inning, as MLB Network showed:

Travis Wood relieved Hendricks with two outs in the fourth inning, and he struck out Conor Gillaspie to end the top half of the frame. Wood came up to bat in the bottom half of the inning and proceeded to hit a homer deep into the left field bleachers. 

Per ESPN’s Jayson Stark, home runs for relief pitchers in the postseason have become extremely rare:

Per Muskat, it hasn’t been quite as long since the Cubs have had a pitcher—starter or reliever—hit a home run in a playoff game:

At that point, Cubs pitchers accounted for three of the team’s five RBI.

The Giants were in a huge hole early because Jeff Samardzija’s first career playoff start did not go well for San Francisco. He gave up four runs in the first two innings and was lifted for a pinch hitter in the top of the third. 

Per ESPN.com’s Mark Saxon, Samardzija’s two-inning start marked the shortest of his MLB career. Stark noted the Shark struggled against winning teams in 2016:

Per Jeff Passan of Yahoo Sports, going into a 4-0 hole against Hendricks has not been a recipe for success in 2016:

Regardless of who is pitching, getting a four-run lead has been virtually an automatic win for the Cubs this season, per Baseball Tonight:

Before Hendricks was forced out, the Giants chipped away at the lead thanks to Gregor Blanco’s RBI double, which scored Joe Panik, and Brandon Belt’s sacrifice fly, which scored Blanco to make it 4-2. 

The bad news for the Giants is that was all their offense could muster.

Wood, Carl Edwards Jr., Mike Montgomery, Hector Rondon and Aroldis Chapman combined for 5.1 scoreless innings in which they allowed just two hits with no walks and six strikeouts. 

Another problem facing the Giants as they head back home for Game 3 on Monday is they aren’t taking advantage of holding the heart of Chicago’s lineup (Anthony Rizzo, Ben Zobrist, Addison Russell) to a combined 1-for-21 in the first two games. 

There is one bright spot for San Francisco even with this hole to climb out of: Madison Bumgarner. The Giants ace will take the mound at home, trying to keep his team alive. 

In case you haven’t heard, Bumgarner is pretty good in these do-or-die situations. His last run allowed in the playoffs was a solo homer by Salvador Perez the seventh inning of Game 1 of the 2014 World Series against the Kansas City Royals. 

Bumgarner has gone 23 straight scoreless innings in the postseason since, including a complete-game shutout against the New York Mets in the NL Wild Card Game on Wednesday. 

The Cubs have looked every bit the best team in baseball they were during the regular season through two games. They got great pitching in Game 1 from Lester, and the offense came to life early in Game 2 before the bullpen took over. 

Even though the even-year magic may have helped carry the Giants this far, even with Bumgarner going Monday, they will need a lot of help to bring this series back to Chicago for a potential Game 5. 

Postgame Reaction

After the game, Hendricks’ arm was one of the biggest discussion points. He seemed optimistic about this being a short-term issue, per Muskat and Chris Haft of MLB.com:

When it first hit me, I didn’t really feel it in the moment. I just tried to recover and make the play. Once I started throwing off the mound, it just started tightening up on me. The X-rays were negative though, so hopefully it’s just a day-to-day thing. I’ll see how I feel over the next couple days.

From one difficult moment to another, Giants manager Bruce Bochy is using his team’s recent history of October success as a motivating factor going back home.

“It’s tough to lose two here, but it’s a case that we have been down this road before,” Bochy said, per Muskat and Haft. “It’s never easy with us, so we’re hoping to get one here, but now we go home and you keep fighting. That’s all you can do.”

There isn’t any way to sugarcoat where things stand for the Giants. All they can do is hope history is able to repeat itself starting Monday. 

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Johnny Cueto and Jon Lester engaged in an epic pitchers’ duel Friday night at Wrigley Field, but Javier Baez snapped the scoreless deadlock in the eighth inning of Game 1 of the National League Division Series with a solo home run to hand the Chicago Cubs a 1-0 win over the San Francisco Giants.  

The Cubs’ official Twitter account offered a glimpse at the game’s defining moment: 

As ESPN.com’s Jayson Stark pointed out, Baez’s game-winning dinger off Cueto was improbable based on his past failures at the plate against the San Francisco starter: 

However, Inside Edge took note of Baez’s historic success against two strikes to show the second baseman’s game-winner was the continuation of a recent trend: 

Offense wasn’t abundant on either side, but the Giants were more consistent at the plate through the first three innings. 

While the Cubs failed to notch a hit off Cueto in each of the first three frames, the Giants produced a baserunner in each of the first four half-innings they stepped to the plate.

However, the Giants were unable to push a runner across the plate during that span and take the lead despite the fact that they had runners on second and third with two outs in the fourth. 

Kris Bryant finally got the Cubs into the hit column with a double to left field in the fourth inning, and the brief awakening looked for a moment like it would spark Chicago’s offense. 

But with Cueto dealing, the Cubs couldn’t make good on Bryant’s two-bagger, as Anthony Rizzo and Ben Zobrist both were unable to come up with timely hits that would have given the Cubs a 1-0 edge. 

Fox Sports 1 on Twitter provided a snapshot of just how strong both starting pitchers were as the game progressed: 

And when the bottom of the fifth came to a close, Yahoo Sports’ Jeff Passan noted the Giants’ pitching staff as a whole has been aces in the postseason: 

Bay Area News Group’s Andrew Baggarly explained that Cueto’s off-speed stuff was giving the Cubs fits: 

Meanwhile, MLB.com’s Daren Willman provided a visual overview of Cueto’s dominance against a team that ranked third in MLB in runs scored:

The pitchers’ duel continued through the top half of the eighth inning, but things turned in Chicago’s favor when Baez launched a shot to left field that just sneaked over the wall to give the Cubs a 1-0 lead with Aroldis Chapman warming in the bullpen. 

With Wrigley buzzing following Baez’s improbable blast, all of the momentum had shifted in the Cubs’ favor.  

Chapman entered to try to close the Giants out in the ninth inning, and he did just that even though Giants catcher Buster Posey reached base after ripping a two-out double to left-center field. 

But with his trademark fireballs flowing, Chapman settled down after Posey moved into scoring position and induced a Hunter Pence groundout to end things. 

The Cubs will now try to mount a 2-0 edge against the NL Wild Card champions on Saturday when the series resumes at 8:08 p.m. ET at Wrigley Field.

Chicago will send Kyle Hendricks—who is 1-1 with a 3.18 ERA in his last three starts—to the mound, while the Giants will counter with Jeff Samardzija, who has been red hot to the tune of a 1.37 ERA and 24 strikeouts in his last three outings. 

Postgame Reaction

Following the win, the Cubs’ Twitter account captured the scene on the field at Wrigley: 

“It was a classic kind of an old-school baseball game,” Cubs manager Joe Maddon said, according to 670 The Score on Twitter. 

“I expect these games to be like this,” Giants manager Bruce Bochy added, per 670 The Score.  

According to USA Today‘s Bob Nightengale, Baez wasn’t initially planning to swing away against Cueto in the eighth: 

“We have 10 wins to go,” Baez said, according to 670 The Score. 

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