The Los Angeles Dodgers were on the brink of elimination coming into Game 5. They’ll be facing the same scenario in Game 6 of the NLCS after a stressful 6-4 win over the St. Louis Cardinals this afternoon.
Thanks to a two-run second inning, the Dodgers were catapulted to a 2-0 lead, though it would only last for a half inning as the Cardinals stormed back with two of their own in the top half of the third, tying the game at 2-2.
But that too was short lived as the Dodgers would net a run in the bottom of the third thanks to an Adrian Gonzalez home run, which wouldn’t be his only round-tripper of the day.
After Gonzalez’s home run, the Dodgers continued to hold their lead, extending it in both the seventh and the eighth innings thanks to home runs from both A.J. Ellis and the aforementioned Gonzalez, who hit his second of the afternoon.
Things started off rocky for the Dodgers and starter Zack Greinke, who was immediately dealing with a bases loaded scenario in the first inning though a well timed double play avoided disaster early. The same couldn’t be said for Cardinals starter Joe Kelly who, after five innings of work, had given up seven hits and four earned runs. Both Greinke and the Dodgers bullpen ran through the Cardinals lineup for the rest of the day until a Yasiel Puig error in the ninth inning contributed to a two-run rally for St. Louis, making things a bit more dicey than the Dodgers had hoped for.
Los Angeles’ win now sends the series back to St. Louis where the Cardinals will attempt to avoid a winner take all scenario with a victory in Game 6, sending them to their second World Series in three years. Meanwhile, the Dodgers will try to starve off elimination for one more day as they look to extend the series to a seventh and deciding game.
Both teams will use Thursday as a travel day before the series starts back up at Busch Stadium on Friday evening.