The Morning Column: October 19, 2021
A live look at the Dodgers playing the Atlanta Braves at Dodger Stadium in the NLCS and the Lakers opening up the regular season at Staples Center against the Golden State Warriors.
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With the Dodgers playing Game 3 of the NLCS against the Atlanta Braves at Dodger Stadium at 2 p.m. and the Lakers opening up the regular season at Staples Center Center at 7 p.m., I thought I’d do something a little different today and have a live diary of one of the biggest days on the Los Angeles sports calendar.
Lakers commemorate first capacity crowd since pandemic
The Lakers have yellow shirts that read “18,997 Strong” on every seat at Staples Center to represent the first capacity crowd for a Lakers home regular season game since March 2020 before tonight’s game against the Golden State Warriors.
Dodgers loose heading into today’s NLCS Game 3
Adrian Gonzalez to throw out the first pitch and today’s celeb list
Adrián González will throw out the first pitch before today's Dodgers- Braves NLCS Game 3. Other notables in attendance include Ken Jeong, Ty Dolla $ign & Breland, Rob Lowe, Jason Bateman, Omar Miller, Jason George, Sheleìa, Luke Bryan and Cole Swindell.
Lakers top Dodgers on ‘get-in’ price
If you were able to take the day off from school or work, you got a fairly inexpensive NLCS ticket given that the start time was 2 p.m. on Tuesday. The “get-in” price or cheapest ticket to today’s Dodgers-Braves game was $50. It was $120 for the Lakers’ opening night game against the Warriors.
Dodger Stadium ready to go despite early start
Dodgers take 2-0 lead in the first inning
The Dodgers took a 2-0 lead in the first inning on a Corey Seager two-run blast to centerfield that brought home Mookie Betts. Saeger’s home run tied Justin Turner for the most postseason home runs in Dodgers history with 13.
Dodgers unravel during nightmarish fourth inning
The Dodgers should have come out of the fourth inning unscathed. If Gavin Lux had caught a routine flyball at the wall for the second out and home plate umpire Jerry Meals had called what was clearly a third strike on Joc Pederson, the Dodgers would have taken a 2-0 lead into the bottom of the fourth inning and Walker Buehler would still be in the game. But nothing went right for the Dodgers. Lux dropped the ball, Meals missed the call and Buehler unraveled, giving up four runs during a nightmarish fourth inning before getting pulled by Dave Roberts.
Kobe Bryant well represented at Dodger Stadium
When the Dodgers played in the NLCS and World Series last year in Texas in front of a reduced capacity, socially distanced crowd at Globe Life Field, I couldn’t help but notice the number of Kobe Bryant Dodgers jerseys in the crowd. That has continued this season at Dodger Stadium and is even more appropriate on a day when the Lakers open the season at home just three miles from Dodger Stadium.
Dodgers complete improbable comeback
The Dodgers were down, 5-2, in the bottom of the eighth inning. They were down to their final five outs before falling behind 3-0 in the NLCS.
In the previous 83 postseason games in which the Dodgers trailed by three or more runs in the eighth inning or later, they had lost and there was no reason to think Tuesday would be any different the way they were playing. But then everything.
First, Cody Bellinger hit a three-run homer to tie the game and then Mookie Betts lined an RBI double to drive home the game-winning run. The Dodgers went from being five outs away from being down 3-0 in the series to being a win on Wednesday with Julio Urias on the mound from tying up the NLCS 2-2 with the prospect of starting Max Scherzer and Walker Buehler, if needed, on full rest in Games 6 and 7 in Atlanta.
From the Dodgers to the Lakers
It took about 20 minutes to make the 3.5-mile drive from Dodger Stadium to Staples Center after the Dodgers game, which was was just enough time to see the opening top and LeBron James, Anthony Davis and Russell Westbrook get introduced to a capacity crowd at Staples Center for the first time.
L.A. sports super fan Jalen Ramsey
No one attends more Los Angeles sports events than Rams cornerback Jalen Ramsey, who has been at Dodgers, Kings and Lakers games over the past week (not to mention playing for the 5-1 Los Angeles Rams).
Check back to TheMorningColumn.com for updates on today’s Lakers and Dodgers games.