Los Angeles Dodgers: The ten best moments of the first half
By Jason Reed
1. “ABSOLUTE MADNESS!” – April 29 vs. Philadelphia Phillies
I get chills down my spine thinking about this one. Every single walk off and big moment I have been able to catch on TV, except this one. I remember looking at my phone after work, seeing that the team was down 5-2, and rolling my eyes. After about a 30-minute drive home I check again and see that absolute madness happened in Los Angeles.
Down 5-2 in the bottom of the ninth, the Dodgers seemed to go out with a whimper against the Phillies. At this point, the team hadn’t been great and we weren’t accustomed to seeing the magic transpire in LA. This was the start of that magic and could be the start of a World Series push.
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Yasiel Puig lead-off the inning with an absolute moonshot on a 3-2 pitch. As Joe Daivs proclaimed “It’s a start!” Fast forward one batter later where Cody Bellinger belted his second home run of the game, and second of his career, off of the right field foul poll. “Puig and Bellinger back-to-back! One. Run. Game.”
Up stepped a pinch-hitting Justin Turner, who to this point had not hit a single home run on the season. Hector Neris delivered a high and outside 0-1 fastball that Turner hammered to the left field seats. “Swing and a drive! ABSOLUTE MADNESS!”
Two singles and two outs later Adrian Gonzalez dribbled a base hit in the 5-6 hole. If the ball made it clean to left field the Dodgers likely wouldn’t have scored, however, in typical Dodger fashion it took a deflection off of third baseman Maikel Franco, bringing Austin Barnes home from second. “The Dodgers win it! A night to remember!”
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The Los Angeles Dodgers, including this win, are 49-17 since this miraculous moment. It was the turning point and the best moment of the first half.