And just like that, we have a series again

The Dodgers escaped elimination by pulling off a well-deserved win this evening against the Louisville Cardinals. This brings the NLCS Championship series to 3-2, with the Cardinals still leading.

The game started off intense and close. No runs were scored by either team in the first inning. But The Dodgers started off the second inning with a single to center field from Juan Uribe allowing Adrian Gonzalez to score, and a hit from Pitcher Zack Greinke allowed Yasiel Puig to score and bring the score to 2-0. But, The Cardinals came back in the top of the 3^rd, with Carlos Beltran hitting a pretty triple that awarded Matt Carpenter a run. Beltran was then able to bring in a run from his triple when Holliday hit a double to deep center. This brought the score to 2-2. And after that, the game changed.

In the bottom of the third, Adrian Gonzalez stepped up and became the first player on the Dodgers team to hit a home run in the NLCS series so far. His homerun seemed to literally shift the momentum back to the Dodgers, allowing Game 5 to become their game. After that first home run, Carl Craword was able to hit homerun in the 5^th, and A.J. Ellis was able to get off another homer in the 7^th inning. And then, Gonzalez stepped up in the 8^th inning to hit his second home run of the night, bringing the score to 6-2.

The Cardinals Made An Effort

The Cardinals tried to power back in the 9^th inning, with scores from Matt Holliday and Matt Adams. But, it wasn’t enough. The Dodgers had already ensured one more game for the season. On the pitching end, Greinke delivered a solid game for the Dodgers. He pitched 7 straight innings, and ended the game allowing two runs and six hits. He also had four strikeouts, and walked one person.  On the batting end, Greinke also got an RBI, becoming the first Dodger s pitcher with an RBI in a NLCS game since Orel Hershiser in 1988.

Whoever wins this series will face either the Detroit Tigers or the Boston Red Sox. The Red Sox are currently in the lead 2-1 in the ALCS. The Cards won the NLCS last year, but ended up losing to the Giants in the World Series. And Despite the Dodgers’ win today, the Cardinals still have a better chance of winning the NLCS this year. They are still up by one game, and Game 6 will see the series return to St. Louis where the Cards will have an advantage. Game 6 of the series will be Friday, the 18^th at 8:30 pm ET.