BOSTON — The Los Angeles Dodgers and Houston Astros both had crucial comeback victories on Tuesday night in their respective series’ to keep them from getting out of hand.
The Astros trailed much of Tuesday night’s game in Boston but they tied the game in the eighth before a 7-run ninth inning gave them the win to tie the series 2-2 rather than trail 3-1.
Meanwhile in L.A., Dodgers fans were heading for the exits after they trailed 5-2 coming into the eighth inning. In the bottom of the eighth, there was more Cody Bellinger magic as he hit a three-run homer to tie the game before Mookie Betts drove in the go-ahead run. That win avoided a 0-3 deficit for Los Angeles.
Locked On MLB Insider and former MLB pro Gordon Beckham gave his thoughts on L.A.’s crucial victory.
“The Dodgers were basically six outs from losing this series. If they go down 0-3 there’s always a chance, but not a good one,” Beckham said. “Cody Bellinger is just going crazy. He had a terrible year stat-wise, was battling some injuries then all of a sudden he’s just going crazy in the postseason, which is always good to see for the guys at the bottom wanting to get to the top. It’s never too late.”
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Bellinger drove in the game-winning run in the top of the ninth against the Giants to win the NLDS last week and now he may have saved the Dodgers’ season.
For the second-straight game, the Dodgers scored two runs in the first inning but then late the Braves take the lead earlier in the game.
The Dodgers could be facing some dilemmas with pitching. They’ve cycled through a myriad of pitchers three games and have pitched Julio Urias and Tony Gonsolin in relief, leading many to believe Wednesday (Game 4) could be another heavy bullpen day depending on how deep Urias can go.
“Everybody’s going to get tired, they’ve played a lot more games than the Braves have,” Beckham said. “The Braves had an easier road in here, they didn’t have to play the Wild Card. The Dodgers have really had to grind their way through this, so even though their guys are really good, their arms going to get tired when this gets to six, seven games. So if that does happen, watch the pendulum swing in the Braves’ favor. It’s tough when your bullpen has been pretty gassed. They’re not even to the World Series yet.”
Urias will get the start for the Dodgers on Wednesday, although it’s not clear how many innings he’ll be able to go after he came in on relief on Sunday in Atlanta. Huascar Ynoa is expected to start for Atlanta. He hasn’t pitched since he threw one inning against Milwaukee on Oct. 12, giving up two runs.
Astros tie series with Red Sox
The bats came alive big late in Tuesday night’s Game 4 of the ALCS for Houston after they trailed 2-1 going into the eighth inning.
Houston ended up winning 9-2 and have tied the series 2-2 going into Wednesday’s Game 5 in Boston.
Locked On MLB Insider and former MLB pro Gordon Beckham gave his thoughts on Houston’s big win and looked ahead to the rest of the series.
“You got to like the Astros chances moving forward, it’s just amazing what a difference a day can make,” Beckham said. They’re tied up and now they have home-field advantage two out of these three upcoming games. It’s going to be really interesting to see what happens down the line.”
Veteran Chris Sale will take the mound on Wednesday vs. Framber Valdez for Houston as we’ll get a lefty-lefty Game 5 matchup.
“Chris Sale is a guy you want to see on the mound,” Beckham said. “He’s had some shaky start in the playoffs, he’s been up and down but ultimately he’s a competitor and when he’s a competitor like that, you want to take the ball, take the mound. The Red Sox want to be that guy. They signed him to a long-term deal to be the guy in these important games. The situation is not going to be too much for him. He’s going to be able to go out there and I’m sure he’s going to be able to do what he’s capable of doing and I like the Red Sox’s chances with him on the mound to take this game.”
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