Cody Bellinger was hyped. He recently ran a home run in the National League Championship Series Game in, becoming the ninth player in Major League history to achieve that feat in the seventh inning or the seventh inning of the next game. ઝ World Series Game 1: Mars.
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So when he crossed the plate of the house late on Sunday evening and saw Kika Hernandez waiting for him, Bellinger jumped into the air and knocked his teammate with him.
The celebration that Bellinger’s shoulder slipped out of his socket was so monstrous, he later confirmed to the MLB network.
Bellinger said, “So I had to come back to the training room. “They hit him back, and I was ready to play a little defense. It hurts a lot. “
The pain was only temporary for Bellinger, who joined Hernandez, the most dramatic two-runner in the Daggers or historical history. In the sixth inning at Arlington’s Globe Life Field, Hernandez went on to inject AJ Minter’s ball into the pinch-hit game-tying homer. Seventh, Bellinger added a front-runner against Chris Martin, leading the Dodgers to an over-3 win at Brave and their third World Series trip in four years.
“It was one of those places where you just know,” Bellinger said. “It felt so good.”
The home run, usually from the Dodgers and especially from Hernandez and Bellinger, who both went into the yard on the eighth pitch of their bat, ended the series of scratches and catches. That was the theme of the week for the Los Angeles Heaters, who constantly ran pitch counts and forced Brave manager Brian Sneitker to empty his bullpen.
By Sunday, all the extra work had added something meaningful. Minter was two days away from a brilliant Game 5 performance, in which the Braves asked him for an inning and he gave them three. But the left-hander was significantly less sharp from the start of Game 7, missing over the strike zone with his first three pitches.
Hernandez had no clear interest in the chase. Two innings earlier, Daggers jersey manager Dave Roberts was stuck on a designated hitter in a left-handed matchup with Jock Pederson as he sought to save Hernandez in a high-profit position. Roberts knew the monitor would appear later in the game, and Hernandez was ready for it, until the hard-hitting lefty made a mistake by throwing a fastball ball 97 m from below in the middle, closing multiple two-strike pitches.
“After that, I was blacked out,” said Hernandez, who joined the 2003 Cubs Troy O’Leary as one of two players to hit a pinch-hit homer in Game 7 of the NLCS. “Heck, what a game. What a freakin ‘game.’
There was yet to come. The Dodgers were still tied with Brave when Bellinger pitched for the fifth time in seven days against Martin when he came in the back inning. Like Hernandez, Martin hit a sink ated at 94 mph until Bellinger closed the pitch after the pitch, allowing Bellinger to crush him in the right field from a foot of 100 feet. When he did, Bellinger placed his bat in front of him and started moving towards the base before watching the entire flight of the ball before it was filled in the jog.
.@ Cody_BellingerMoment of. #NLCS pic.twitter.com/8OefB2PvxN
– MLB (3 MMBB) October 19, 2020
Once Bellinger reached home, he officially became the second player in jerseys history with Homer advancing in the seventh inning or subsequent winner-take-all game, matching Rick Monday’s shot in the 1981 NLCS. Bellinger, who also hit a go-ahead homer in the 2018 NLCS Game 7 against the Brewers, joined David Ortiz of Boston and Dustin Pedroia as one of three players with multiple career home runs in the winner-take-all in LCS games.
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After that, Bellinger remained on a makeshift stage in the Globe Life Field, wearing a hat and sliding her head backwards. With a 4-for-23 line and 9 strikeouts entering Game 7, slipping for most NLCs, Bellinger was now celebrating. Her T-shirt was adorned with the logo jersey logo and the words “National Presentation”.
Bellinger’s shoulder felt sore but functional, and that should be good Tuesday for Game 1. Bellinger, who has continued multiple turmoil in big league games, certainly won’t sweat. In 2018, he dropped his shoulder on the field and pulled it back before the game resumed.
Don’t expect to pay attention to the situation even if the technique of its celebration changes.
“I’m probably going to use my left hand,” Bellinger said grinning. “I’ve never displaced it.”
Anthony Dycomo has covered the Mets for MLB.com since 2007. Follow him on Twitter NtAnthonyDiComo, Instagram and Facebook.
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