Dodgers beat Atlanta Braves 11-2 to avoid playoff elimination in NL Championship Series | Other Sports | sports

The slugger Dominican Albert Pujols vindicated himself as a player of power, class and leadership who knows when to show the maximum of his talent as he did during Game Five of the National League Championship Series that the Angeles Dodgers beat Atlanta Braves 11-2 by beating and they avoided being eliminated from the playoffs.

“I feel that I still have some gasoline in the tankPujols declared when last summer he was released by the Angels from The Angels and in mid-May he signed with the Dodgers.

The future Hall of Famer has already shown that he has not yet run out of fuel for the power he has with the bat.

At lineup the Dodgers’ biggest game opener this season due to the presence of the zurdo Max Fried On the mound with the Braves, Pujols had two hits, reached three times and scored two runs in his first three at-bats of Game 5 of the Championship Series Thursday night.

He was also involved in all the attacks of The Angels in the key innings of the game that were two, three and five.

The dodgers ended up beating the Braves 11-2 and forcing a Sixth Game to be played in Atlanta on Saturday.

Pujols, 41, is the first player at least 40 to hit base three or more times and score two or more runs in a postseason game since the legendary Pete Rose He did it at age 43 for Philadelphia Phillies against the Dodgers in Game 3 of the 1983 Championship Series.

The veteran Dominican right-hander is also the oldest player with multiple games of two or more hits in the same postseason since Puerto Rican wide receiver Jorge Posada in 2011 with the New York Yankees.

Pujols, as the Dodgers’ sixth batter, began the night by hitting a line single to Fried in the second inning after the left fielder AJ Pollock approached the Dodgers with a home run and immediately scored with another home run from the tercera base Chris Taylor that flipped the board.

An episode later and with Pollock in first gear, Pujols returned to the fray with an unstoppable to the center which took his partner to third. Pollock would score the fourth for the Dodgers on Taylor’s single.

The Pujols-Taylor combination would return to attack in the fifth episode. This time, Pujols maintained his hold on Fried by negotiating a ticket with two outs that marked the exit of the stellar Atlanta starter.

Fried was replaced by Chris Martin, whom Taylor greeted with a monumental home run that extended the Dodgers’ lead to 6-2.

After dropping a .294 / .336 / .603 / offensive line and a .939 OPS in 146 plate appearances against lefties in the regular season, Pujols not only secured a spot on the Dodgers’ postseason roster, but also initiated three engagements in the lineup opener, including the life or death of the duel Thursday against the Braves.

With the beating, the Dodgers claimed to extend their season at least one more game. Now, they will travel to Atlanta for Game 6 to be played tomorrow, Saturday.

Although Taylor was the hero of the night with three homers and six RBIs, Pujols’ real contribution was also key at the time he most needed him on the team when it came to getting the victory that would keep them alive and continue in the game. fight of revalidate the title of champions of the World Series.

Taylor established a postseason record of the Dodgers with 13 total bases, most by any major league player in an elimination game.

He also became the 11th player to hit three home runs in a postseason game, a list that also includes Pujols and members of the Hall of Fame Reggie Jackson and George Brett. Babe Ruth accomplished the feat twice. Taylor became the first to do so for a team facing elimination.

“Everything what happened tonight is a blessing, the opportunity to return to play in a great game and then do things well so that the team could get the victory ”, declared Pujols. “We forced the Sixth Party and we must continue on the same path.” (D)