The San Francisco Giants beat the Los Angeles Dodgers 1-0 in Game 3 of the NLDS to take a 2-1 lead in the best-of-five series. San Francisco got a home run from Evan Longoria vs Max Scherzer, fantastic pitching (Alex Wood threw 4 2/3 scoreless as the starter), and Brandon Crawford saved a run (maybe more) with an incredible defensive play.
They also got some help from wind at Dodger Stadium.
With two outs in the bottom of the ninth, the Dodgers’ Gavin Lux hit what he was sure was a game-tying home run. Lux crushed a 106.9 mph flyball deep to left-center field, but the ball died on the warning track for a game-ending out.
Gavin Lux thought he just hit a game-tying homer with 2 outs in the 9th.
Instead it's a flyout to the track, and the Giants win Game 3 to take a 2-1 series lead over the Dodgers. pic.twitter.com/kpKA4VcWCB
— The Comeback (@thecomeback) October 12, 2021
Gavin Lux in disbelief pic.twitter.com/MWiAb7nzN4
— The Comeback (@thecomeback) October 12, 2021
That certainly looked good off the bat, and hitters tend to have a pretty good idea of when they got all of one, especially in the home ballpark. And the batted ball data suggests that kind of flyball is indeed usually a home run. A very unfortunate result for Lux and the Dodgers.
Gavin Lux hit the final pitch of the game 106.9 mph and at a 22-degree launch angle. Batters this season, on balls hit 106-107 mph and at 22-degree launch, were 55 for 62 (.887) with 38 home runs. The Dodgers had four such hits this year. All were homers. Lux thought he had one.
— Jeff Passan (@JeffPassan) October 12, 2021
But, that’s how it goes sometimes (and *a lot* at Wrigley Field, for example), and the wind impacted some flyballs the Giants hit too.
San Francisco will take it, and now they’ll take their shot at winning the series with two chances to work with. The Giants can close out the NLDS with a victory in Game 4 on Tuesday in Los Angeles, and if that fails, they’d at least get the series back in San Francisco for a Game 5.
[Photo Credit: TBS]
