Chris Taylor hits walk-off HR, Dodgers deck Cardinals in NL wild-card game

By BETH HARRIS

LOS ANGELES (AP) — A recurring cervix wounded reduced slumping Chris Taylor from starter to seat subordinate successful September.

He proved a symptom successful the cervix to the St. Louis Cardinals successful the bottommost of the ninth inning.

Taylor deed a two-run homer to assistance the Los Angeles Dodgers to a 3-1 triumph Wednesday nighttime successful a scintillating NL wild-card game.

Justin Turner homered aboriginal and the 106-win Dodgers precocious to a best-of-five Division Series against the NL West champion Giants, who won 107 games to hardly clasp disconnected rival Los Angeles for the part title. Game 1 is Friday nighttime successful San Francisco.

“That’s gonna beryllium fun. Yeah, 2 of the champion regular-season records of all-time. We’ve been battling each year, truthful I expect a hard-fought series,” Taylor said.

The Dodgers celebrated connected the tract earlier heading into their clubhouse to proceed the party. Beer and champagne were poured implicit the heads of shirtless, goggle-wearing players.

The sellout assemblage of 53,193 hung connected each transportation arsenic the hostility of a necktie crippled built from the 4th inning on. Fans waved bluish towels, futilely urging connected the fewer balls launched into the outfield lone to spot them caught successful a winner-take-all matchup betwixt 2 of the National League’s astir storied and palmy franchises.

Cody Bellinger drew a two-out locomotion from T.J. McFarland and stole 2nd successful the ninth, erstwhile astir each instrumentality was connected their feet, anxiously waiting to spot if the defending World Series champions could propulsion disconnected a win.

“That’s huge, knowing I don’t person to bash excessively much,” said Taylor, batting successful the No. 9 slot aft entering to play near tract arsenic portion of a treble power successful the seventh. “It benignant of settled maine down a small bit.”

Alex Reyes came successful to look Taylor, who sent a 2-1 breaking shot into the left-field pavilion, triggering an detonation of cheers.

“Honestly, I was conscionable trying to deed a single. Not trying to bash excessively much,” Taylor said aft launching the 4th walk-off homer successful Dodgers postseason history. “He gave maine a bully slider to deed and I was capable to get it up successful the air.”

Tommy Edman dropped a one-out azygous into close disconnected person Kenley Jansen successful the apical of the ninth and stole second. Paul Goldschmidt took a called 3rd onslaught and Tyler O’Neill went down swinging to extremity the threat.

The Dodgers’ bullpen stymied the St. Louis hitters, allowing conscionable a brace of singles aft the 5th inning.

“The full bullpen stepped up. We’ve been doing it the full year,” Jansen said. “Off we spell up northbound now.”

Both teams had runners connected successful the sixth, seventh and eighth innings, but couldn’t propulsion a tally across.

St. Louis finished 0 for 11 with runners successful scoring position, stranding 11 overall. The Cardinals went connected a 17-game winning streak successful September to drawback the 2nd wild-card spot, lone to spot their playoff dreams squelched.

“That’s a clubhouse afloat of guys that are hurting,” manager Mike Shildt said.

Dueling aces Adam Wainwright of St. Louis and the Dodgers’ Max Scherzer struggled with their power aboriginal successful conscionable the 2nd winner-take-all crippled successful postseason past with 2 starting pitchers aged 37-plus. Wainwright is 40; Scherzer is 37.

“They were relentless,” Wainwright said of the Dodgers. “We had our chances to triumph that game.”

Wainwright and Scherzer issued 2 walks apiece done the archetypal 3 innings. Scherzer’s chaotic transportation led to a tally successful the archetypal and helium plunked Harrison Bader successful the fourth.

Turner tied it astatine 1 successful the 4th connected a leadoff solo changeable into the Dodgers’ bullpen successful left. It was the archetypal homer Wainwright has ever fixed up connected a curveball successful the postseason. Turner’s 13 postseason homers are the astir successful franchise history.

St. Louis led 1-0 erstwhile Edman scored connected Scherzer’s chaotic pitch. Edman singled starring off, stole 2nd basal and went to 3rd erstwhile O’Neill fouled retired to right.

Scherzer near with 1 retired successful the 5th aft giving up a leadoff azygous to Edman and a locomotion to Goldschmidt. He paced the dugout with his hands connected his hips. Former Cardinal Joe Kelly got retired of the jam aft Goldschmidt reached 3rd connected a chaotic pitch.

Scherzer allowed 1 tally and 3 hits, struck retired 4 and walked 3 against his hometown team.

“Pins and needles each nighttime long. What an effort by our guys,” a shirtless Scherzer said during a postgame interrogation with TBS connected the field. “Now we party.”

Wainwright gave up 1 tally and 4 hits successful 5 1/3 innings. He struck retired 5 and walked two.

The Dodgers had Wainwright connected the ropes successful the third, loading the bases with 1 out. He was wrong 1 shot of walking successful the tying tally earlier Trea Turner broke his bat grounding into an inning-ending treble play connected a 3-2 pitch.

IN THE HOUSE

Nationals outfielder Juan Soto sat down the sheet wearing a Trea Turner jersey from his clip successful Washington. Soto finished 2nd to Turner, his erstwhile Nats teammate, for the NL batting title. Turner won his archetypal batting crown with a .328 average.

Soto said helium wanted to enactment his teammates and “see their look erstwhile I astonishment them.”

It worked. Turner didn’t cognize Soto was coming.

“When I saw him during the crippled I was laughing for him to beryllium wearing my jersey,” helium said.

Nationals hitting manager Kevin Long was sitting adjacent to Soto wearing Scherzer’s jersey.

Dodgers co-owners Magic Johnson and Billie Jean King sat unneurotic nearby.

UP NEXT

Cardinals: Pitchers and catchers study for outpouring grooming successful mid-February.

Dodgers: Open the best-of-five NLDS against San Francisco connected Friday. They were 9-10 against the Giants this season.

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