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Dodgers starting pitcher Walker Buehler yells in celebration after striking out the Rockies’ Ryan McMahon to end the top of the sixth inning of Wednesday’s game at Dodger Stadium. It was the career-high 12th strikeout for Buehler. (Photo by David Crane, Los Angeles Daily News/SCNG)
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Los Angeles Dodgers starting pitcher Walker Buehler throws against the Colorado Rockies during the first inning of a baseball game, Wednesday, Sept. 19, 2018, in Los Angeles. (AP Photo/Jae C. Hong)
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Los Angeles Dodgers starting pitcher Walker Buehler throws against the Colorado Rockies during the first inning of a baseball game, Wednesday, Sept. 19, 2018, in Los Angeles. (AP Photo/Jae C. Hong)
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LOS ANGELES, CA – SEPTEMBER 19: Walker Buehler #21 of the Los Angeles Dodgers tosses the ball to first for an out of David Dahl #26 of the Colorado Rockies to end the fifth inning at Dodger Stadium on September 19, 2018 in Los Angeles, California. (Photo by Harry How/Getty Images)
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Dodgers starting pitcher Walker Buehler throws to the plate during Wednesday’s game against the Colorado Rockies at Dodger Stadium. Buehler allowed two unearned runs in the first inning but settled down to silence the visitors the rest of the night, striking out a career-high 12 in six innings. (Photo by David Crane, Los Angeles Daily News/SCNG)
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LOS ANGELES — The Dodgers have not gone totally hip. They are allowing their regular starting pitchers to actually pitch the first inning, contrary to trend.
But they did see two different fellows handle the first two innings Wednesday night. It was Walker Buehler in the second through sixth, after an identity stealer who resembled Walker Buehler stumbled through the first.
Buehler gave up two runs in the first inning and threw 36 pitches. Although Buehler claimed he didn’t notice, lefty Zac Rosscup was warming.
“You don’t want him going into the 40s there,” Manager Dave Roberts said. A strikeout of Ryan McMahon got Buehler through it, and it could have been far worse: The first three Rockies were all on base, and after two outs Ian Desmond cracked a first-pitch, two-run single.
“I was trying to be Superman, doing a bit too much,” Buehler said. Apparently, the phone booth works in reverse, too. Capeless and earthbound, Buehler overwhelmed the Rockies for the next five innings, and Yasiel Puig boomed a three-run shot off Scott Oberg in the eighth.
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The Dodgers won 5-2, swept the three-game series, nailed down a 2½-game lead with nine games left, and began to anticipate the championship month.
“We’re playing our best baseball at the right time,” Roberts said, knowing that last year’s Dodgers didn’t need to do that and got to Game 7 of the World Series anyway.
“I’d rather give up two runs in the first inning of a game like this than have it happen in the playoffs,” Buehler said.
Given the intermittence of this season, it’s hard to imagine the Dodgers will float into October without a bump. If they make it, they will be as well-armed as they’ve been since they started winning this division in 2013.
They can roll out Buehler, Clayton Kershaw, Hyun-jin Ryu and Rich Hill, with any number of Plan Bs behind them. And Buehler keeps ascending as his gas gauge keeps descending. He struck out a career-high 12 in this game and didn’t give up a hit after David Dahl’s single in the third.
Buehler actually had to deal with two-on-and-no-out situation in that inning because he had erred on D.J. LeMahieu’s grounder to lead off. “I punted it to the third-base line, which was a little embarrassing,” he said.
But he struck out the struggling Nolan Arenado with high-90s stuff on the outside half, and then fanned Gerardo Parra and handled Desmond’s comebacker cleanly.
Buehler was pitching similarly in the first half of the season. Then he hurt a rib on June 8 and didn’t pitch again until June 28. He said it took another month to feel like a bird or a plane again, and he had to readjust mechanically and get in sync with his catchers.
Starting on July 31, Buehler has made 10 starts and exceeded 100 pitches in six of them, including Wednesday’s. In that span, he is 4-2 with a 1.86 ERA and has 67 strikeouts in 62-2/3 innings.
In the first inning Arenado came up with bases loaded and no out, and Buehler got behind 2-and-1. He threw 98 for a strike, threw 99 for a foul ball, and then locked up the MVP candidate with an 86-mph slider.
“I was just a little too excited in that inning,” Buehler said. “The later you get into the series, the bigger the games get. They always talk about a team getting hot at the right time, and it’s always somebody. I’m glad that we’re playing like that team right now.”
Since the Dodgers were swept at home by St. Louis in late August, they are 18-7. They have won their past four series against contending teams. They gave the Rockies six runs in these three games.
They also continue to flaunt their numbers. In the seventh inning, they used Puig, Joc Pederson, Max Muncy and David Freese as pinch-hitters. Colorado manager Bud Black had Oberg pitch to Puig with first base open, even though Puig is a .301 hitter against right-handers like Oberg and a .216 hitter against lefties. But Oberg had given up one home run to a right-handed hitter all season.
And Oberg made a nice pitch here. It was sliding down and out of the strike zone when Puig reached out and muscled it. It was Puig’s 22nd homer of the year and sixth in six days.
But it was almost as significant that Dozier, flailing to find his legs in the National League, came up in the fifth inning and stroked a double that scored Kiké Hernandez from first. That tied it at 2-2.
“This was emblematic of our ballclub,” Roberts said. So was the S on Buehler’s chest, which, for the moment, still means September.
Buehler’s dozen. pic.twitter.com/HUj7VHyUEE
— Los Angeles Dodgers (@Dodgers) September 20, 2018
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Dodger’s Yasiel Puig, #66, waves to teammates after hitting a 3-run homer to go ahead of the Rockies 5-2 during 7th inning action at Dodger Stadium Wednesday, September 19, 2018. (Photo by David Crane, Los Angeles Daily News/SCNG)
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Dodger’s Yasiel Puig, #66, is greeted by teammates after hitting a 3-run homer to go ahead of the Rockies 5-2 during 7th inning action at Dodger Stadium Wednesday, September 19, 2018. (Photo by David Crane, Los Angeles Daily News/SCNG)
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Dodger’s Walker Buehler, #21, pitches against the Rockies at Dodger Stadium Wednesday, September 19, 2018. (Photo by David Crane, Los Angeles Daily News/SCNG)
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Dodger’s Matt Kemp, #27, rounds the bases after knocking out a homer during second inning action at Dodger Stadium Wednesday, September 19, 2018. (Photo by David Crane, Los Angeles Daily News/SCNG)
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Los Angeles Dodgers’ Matt Kemp celebrates his home run as he rounds the bases past Colorado Rockies’ Nolan Arenado during the second inning of a baseball game, Wednesday, Sept. 19, 2018, in Los Angeles. (AP Photo/Jae C. Hong)
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Los Angeles Dodgers’ Matt Kemp rounds the bases after hitting a home run during the second inning of a baseball game against the Colorado Rockies, Wednesday, Sept. 19, 2018, in Los Angeles. (AP Photo/Jae C. Hong)
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Los Angeles Dodgers’ Matt Kemp celebrates his home run during the second inning of a baseball game against the Colorado Rockies, Wednesday, Sept. 19, 2018, in Los Angeles. (AP Photo/Jae C. Hong)
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LOS ANGELES, CA – SEPTEMBER 19: Matt Kemp #27 of the Los Angeles Dodgers scores off his solo hoomerun, in front of Chris Iannetta #22 of the Colorado Rockies, to trail 2-1 during the second inning at Dodger Stadium on September 19, 2018 in Los Angeles, California. (Photo by Harry How/Getty Images)
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Dodger’s Matt Kemp, #27, gets a hug from Enrique Hernandez, #14, after hitting a home run during second inning action at Dodger Stadium Wednesday, September 19, 2018. (Photo by David Crane, Los Angeles Daily News/SCNG)
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Los Angeles Dodgers’ Matt Kemp(27) celebrates his home run with Yasiel Puig during the second inning of a baseball game against the Colorado Rockies, Wednesday, Sept. 19, 2018, in Los Angeles. (AP Photo/Jae C. Hong)
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Colorado Rockies’ Ian Desmond connects for a two-run single during the first inning of a baseball game against the Los Angeles Dodgers, Wednesday, Sept. 19, 2018, in Los Angeles. (AP Photo/Jae C. Hong)
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Colorado Rockies’ Ian Desmond watches after hitting a two-run single during the first inning of a baseball game against the Los Angeles Dodgers, Wednesday, Sept. 19, 2018, in Los Angeles. (AP Photo/Jae C. Hong)
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Dodger catcher Yasmani Grandal, #9, takes out Rockies Charlie Blackmon, #19, at home plate during first inning action at Dodger Stadium Wednesday, September 19, 2018. (Photo by David Crane, Los Angeles Daily News/SCNG)
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Colorado Rockies’ David Dahl scores on a single hit by Ian Desmond during the first inning of a baseball game against the Los Angeles Dodgers, Wednesday, Sept. 19, 2018, in Los Angeles. (AP Photo/Jae C. Hong)
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Colorado Rockies’ DJ LeMahieu, left, and David Dahl celebrate after they scored on a single hit by Ian Desmond during the first inning of a baseball game against the Los Angeles Dodgers, Wednesday, Sept. 19, 2018, in Los Angeles. (AP Photo/Jae C. Hong)
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Rockies David Dahl, #26, gets high fives after he scores during first inning action at Dodger Stadium Wednesday, September 19, 2018. (Photo by David Crane, Los Angeles Daily News/SCNG)
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LOS ANGELES, CA – SEPTEMBER 19: New Los Angeles Laker, JaVale McGee, takes in the game between the Colorado Rockies and the Los Angeles Dodgers at Dodger Stadium on September 19, 2018 in Los Angeles, California. (Photo by Harry How/Getty Images)
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Rockies Tyler Anderson, #44, pitches against the Dodgers at Dodger Stadium Wednesday, September 19, 2018. (Photo by David Crane, Los Angeles Daily News/SCNG)
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Dodger’s Yasiel Puig, #66, picked up this pitch from Rockies Scott Oberg to go ahead of the Rockies 5-2 during 7th inning action at Dodger Stadium Wednesday, September 19, 2018. (Photo by David Crane, Los Angeles Daily News/SCNG)
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Dodger’s Yasiel Puig, #66, watches this hit off of Rockies Scott Oberg to go over the wall for a 3-run homer to go ahead of the Rockies 5-2 during 7th inning action at Dodger Stadium Wednesday, September 19, 2018. (Photo by David Crane, Los Angeles Daily News/SCNG)
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Los Angeles Dodgers’ Yasiel Puig celebrates his three-run home run during the seventh inning of a baseball game against the Colorado Rockies, Wednesday, Sept. 19, 2018, in Los Angeles. (AP Photo/Jae C. Hong)
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Dodger’s Yasiel Puig, #66, runs in after slamming a 3-run homer to go ahead of the Rockies 5-2 during 7th inning action at Dodger Stadium Wednesday, September 19, 2018. (Photo by David Crane, Los Angeles Daily News/SCNG)
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LOS ANGELES, CA – SEPTEMBER 19: Yasiel Puig #66 of the Los Angeles Dodgers celebrates his three run homerun with Yasmani Grandal #9 and Max Muncy #13 to take a 5-2 lead over the Colorado Rockies during the seventh inning at Dodger Stadium on September 19, 2018 in Los Angeles, California. (Photo by Harry How/Getty Images)
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Los Angeles Dodgers’ Yasiel Puig (66) celebrates his three-run home run with teammates during the seventh inning of a baseball game against the Colorado Rockies, Wednesday, Sept. 19, 2018, in Los Angeles. (AP Photo/Jae C. Hong)
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Dodger’s Justin Turner, #10, pulled this drive by Rockies Charlie Blackmon out of the dirt to throw him out at first during 7th inning action at Dodger Stadium Wednesday, September 19, 2018. (Photo by David Crane, Los Angeles Daily News/SCNG)
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Dodger’s Walker Buehler, #21, yells after the final striking out Rockies Ryan McMahon during 6th inning action at Dodger Stadium Wednesday, September 19, 2018. (Photo by David Crane, Los Angeles Daily News/SCNG)
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LOS ANGELES, CA – SEPTEMBER 19: David Dahl #26 of the Colorado Rockies makes a catch for an out of Chris Taylor #3 of the Los Angeles Dodgers during the first inning at Dodger Stadium on September 19, 2018 in Los Angeles, California. (Photo by Harry How/Getty Images)
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LOS ANGELES, CA – SEPTEMBER 19: Brian Dozier #6 of the Los Angeles Dodgers reacts to his fly ball caught at the warning track for the final out of the second inning against the Colorado Rockies at Dodger Stadium on September 19, 2018 in Los Angeles, California. (Photo by Harry How/Getty Images)
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LOS ANGELES, CA – SEPTEMBER 19: Walker Buehler #21 of the Los Angeles Dodgers tosses the ball to first for an out of David Dahl #26 of the Colorado Rockies to end the fifth inning at Dodger Stadium on September 19, 2018 in Los Angeles, California. (Photo by Harry How/Getty Images)
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LOS ANGELES, CA – SEPTEMBER 19: DJ LeMahieu #9 of the Colorado Rockies reacts to his strikeout in front of Yasmani Grandal #9 of the Los Angeles Dodgers and umpire Tony Randazzo #11 during the fifth inning at Dodger Stadium on September 19, 2018 in Los Angeles, California. (Photo by Harry How/Getty Images)
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Los Angeles Dodgers’ Brian Dozier connects for an RBI double during the fifth inning of the team’s baseball game against the Colorado Rockies, Wednesday, Sept. 19, 2018, in Los Angeles. (AP Photo/Jae C. Hong)
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Los Angeles Dodgers’ Brian Dozier follows through after hitting an RBI double during the fifth inning of a baseball game against the Colorado Rockies, Wednesday, Sept. 19, 2018, in Los Angeles. (AP Photo/Jae C. Hong)
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Los Angeles Dodgers’ Brian Dozier watches after hitting an RBI double during the fifth inning of a baseball game against the Colorado Rockies, Wednesday, Sept. 19, 2018, in Los Angeles. (AP Photo/Jae C. Hong)
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Los Angeles Dodgers’ Enrique Hernandez dashes toward home plate to score on a double by Brian Dozier during the fifth inning of a baseball game against the Colorado Rockies, Wednesday, Sept. 19, 2018, in Los Angeles. (AP Photo/Jae C. Hong)
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Los Angeles Dodgers’ Enrique Hernandez, right, slides to score on a double hit by Brian Dozier as Colorado Rockies catcher Chris Iannetta waits for the throw during the fifth inning of a baseball game, Wednesday, Sept. 19, 2018, in Los Angeles. (AP Photo/Jae C. Hong)
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LOS ANGELES, CA – SEPTEMBER 19: Enrique Hernandez #14 of the Los Angeles Dodgers scores in front of Chris Iannetta #22 of the Colorado Rockies to tie the game 2-2 during the fifth inning at Dodger Stadium on September 19, 2018 in Los Angeles, California. (Photo by Harry How/Getty Images)
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LOS ANGELES, CA – SEPTEMBER 19: Enrique Hernandez #14 of the Los Angeles Dodgers celebrates his run to tie the Colorado Rockies 2-2 during the fifth inning at Dodger Stadium on September 19, 2018 in Los Angeles, California. (Photo by Harry How/Getty Images)
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LOS ANGELES, CA – SEPTEMBER 19: DJ LeMahieu #9 of the Colorado Rockies throws over Justin Turner #10 of the Los Angeles Dodgers for a double play during the sixth inning at Dodger Stadium on September 19, 2018 in Los Angeles, California. (Photo by Harry How/Getty Images)
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LOS ANGELES, CA – SEPTEMBER 19: Gerardo Parra #8 of the Colorado Rockies reacts after he was hit on the foot with a pitch from Walker Buehler #21 of the Los Angeles Dodgers, as manager Bud Black #10 looks over, during the sixth inning at Dodger Stadium on September 19, 2018 in Los Angeles, California. (Photo by Harry How/Getty Images)
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Los Angeles Dodgers starting pitcher Walker Buehler throws against the Colorado Rockies during the first inning of a baseball game, Wednesday, Sept. 19, 2018, in Los Angeles. (AP Photo/Jae C. Hong)
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Los Angeles Dodgers’ Manny Machado leaps in an unsuccessful attempt to catch a single hit by Colorado Rockies’ Charlie Blackmon during the first inning of a baseball game, Wednesday, Sept. 19, 2018, in Los Angeles. (AP Photo/Jae C. Hong)
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Colorado Rockies starting pitcher Tyler Anderson throws against the Los Angeles Dodgers during the first inning of a baseball game, Wednesday, Sept. 19, 2018, in Los Angeles. (AP Photo/Jae C. Hong)
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Los Angeles Dodgers starting pitcher Walker Buehler throws against the Colorado Rockies during the first inning of a baseball game, Wednesday, Sept. 19, 2018, in Los Angeles. (AP Photo/Jae C. Hong)
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Los Angeles Dodgers’ Justin Turner makes a throwing error as he throws to first base for the out on Colorado Rockies’ DJ LeMahieu during the first inning of a baseball game, Wednesday, Sept. 19, 2018, in Los Angeles. (AP Photo/Jae C. Hong)
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Colorado Rockies starting pitcher Tyler Anderson throws against the Los Angeles Dodgers during the first inning of a baseball game, Wednesday, Sept. 19, 2018, in Los Angeles. (AP Photo/Jae C. Hong)
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Colorado Rockies’ Nolan Arenado reacts after striking out during the first inning of a baseball game against the Los Angeles Dodgers, Wednesday, Sept. 19, 2018, in Los Angeles. (AP Photo/Jae C. Hong)
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Los Angeles Dodgers’ Enrique Hernandez, right, celebrates with starting pitcher Walker Buehler after scoring on a double by Brian Dozier as Colorado Rockies starting pitcher Tyler Anderson, foreground, walks toward the mound during the fifth inning of a baseball game Wednesday, Sept. 19, 2018, in Los Angeles. (AP Photo/Jae C. Hong)
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LOS ANGELES, CA – SEPTEMBER 19: Kenta Maeda #18 of the Los Angeles Dodgers pitches in relief during the eighth inning against the Colorado Rockies at Dodger Stadium on September 19, 2018 in Los Angeles, California. (Photo by Harry How/Getty Images)
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Los Angeles Dodgers’ Justin Turner throws to first base for the out on Colorado Rockies’ Ian Desmond during the ninth inning of a baseball game Wednesday, Sept. 19, 2018, in Los Angeles. Desmond was called out after a video review. (AP Photo/Jae C. Hong)
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Los Angeles Dodgers’ Chris Taylor, Yasiel Puig and Manny Machado, from left, celebrate the team’s 5-2 win over the Colorado Rockies in a baseball game Wednesday, Sept. 19, 2018, in Los Angeles. (AP Photo/Jae C. Hong)
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LOS ANGELES — It took a while for the playoff race to get the Dodgers’ full attention.
It has now.
The Dodgers completed a three-game sweep of the Colorado Rockies on Wednesday night as Yasiel Puig hammered a pinch-hit three-run home run in the seventh inning, breaking open a tie game and sending the Dodgers to a 5-2 victory.
The win – the Dodgers’ fifth in six head-to-head matchups with the Rockies over the past two weeks – swelled the Dodgers’ lead in the National League West to 2½ games. They have won 18 of their last 25 games and now have their largest lead in the division this season.
With nine games to play, their magic number to clinch their sixth consecutive division title is eight and they hold a half-game edge over the NL East-leading Atlanta Braves for home-field advantage in a best-of-five Division Series matchup.
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“This year, we really have to earn this,” Dodgers closer Kenley Jansen said. “People can say they turn it on. That’s not true. We had to grind this year. It’s been such a grind for us this year with injuries and that terrible April.
“Everything is happening at the right time. That’s what we wanted.”
The home run Wednesday was Puig’s sixth in his past 18 at-bats including a five-homer burst in two games in St. Louis over the weekend. It’s a power surge he says he has enjoyed before.
“Yeah – at my house, playing video games,” he said.
No word on whether that video game player was stolen during a burglary at Puig’s home Tuesday night. It was the second time in the past month and the fourth time in the past two years that Puig’s home has been burglarized.
Dodgers manager Dave Roberts let Puig leave Dodger Stadium during Tuesday’s game when word of the burglary reached Puig. He was home dealing with that when Chris Taylor hit a 10th-inning walk-off home run for the Dodgers.
“I tried to come back … he hit it before I could come back,” Puig joked. “There was too much traffic and my brother wasn’t home. He’s on vacation. I didn’t want to drive back.”
So Puig staged his own dramatics Wednesday night.
“I was so excited because, finally, I did something good for my team from the dugout,” Puig said. “It was great. I didn’t sleep too much yesterday. I came here early today and really didn’t work too much. I just talked with my teammates. When it was 2-2, I was just saying, ‘Come on, we can do it.’”
It was 2-2 thanks in part to another strong outing from Walker Buehler. He allowed two unearned runs in the first inning but just three hits in six innings while striking out a career-high 12.
The six innings put Buehler past 140 for the season (including 18 in the minor leagues). But he only seems to be getting stronger. Over his past 10 starts, he has a 1.58 ERA and 0.91 WHIP while holding opposing hitters to a .163 batting average with 79 strikeouts in 62-2/3 innings.
“I threw 140 innings at age 19 (in college) so it’s not something that’s super-new to me,” Buehler said. “At some point, it’s just about winning games. Yeah, they could limit me now. But I wouldn’t take it very well.”
The Dodgers cut the Rockies’ early lead in half with a solo home run by Matt Kemp in the second inning. It was Kemp’s 20th home run of the season, making him the seventh Dodger with at least 20 home runs this season. They are the first National League team to have that many 20-homer hitters in a season.
They tied the score in the fifth on Kiké Hernandez’s leadoff single and Brian Dozier’s RBI double.
It was still tied in the seventh when pinch-hitter Max Muncy drew a walk and Yasmani Grandal doubled into the right-field corner, bringing up Dozier against Rockies reliever Scott Oberg.
Roberts called Dozier back and sent Puig up to pinch-hit. Puig was not in the starting lineup Tuesday or Wednesday against the Rockies because they started left-handers – and Puig is in a two-year slump against left-handed pitching.
Rockies manager Bud Black had four left-handed relievers in his bullpen – but he left in the right-handed Oberg and did not walk Puig even with first base open.
“I was prepared to have Yasiel face (lefty reliever Chris) Rusin, yes,” Roberts said. “I’m sure Bud had his reasons. But I’m glad they pitched to him.”
Puig sent an 0-and-1 slider into the seats. It was his 50th home run in the past two seasons. Forty-four have been hit off right-handed pitchers.
“It’s tough to catch fire at the right time,” Buehler said. “Everybody wants to be that team and right now we’re doing it.”
Puig, you’re clutch. #SeptemberBaseball pic.twitter.com/ARytD5fD78
— MLB (@MLB) September 20, 2018
.@alannarizzo caught up with @YasielPuig to discuss his game-changing three-run homer that helped to seal a #Dodgers series sweep against the #Rockies. pic.twitter.com/2eZzhC7e8Z
— SportsNet LA (@SportsNetLA) September 20, 2018
Buehler’s dozen. pic.twitter.com/HUj7VHyUEE
— Los Angeles Dodgers (@Dodgers) September 20, 2018
Dave Roberts recaps @YasielPuig’s at-bat & a strong outing from @buehlersdayoff in tonight’s 5-2 #Dodgers win. pic.twitter.com/mWyudajE27
— SportsNet LA (@SportsNetLA) September 20, 2018