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Friday, October 22, 2021

Chris Taylor hits 3 home runs, leads Dodgers to huge NLCS Game 5 win over Braves

The Los Angeles Dodgers, thanks to a wild night from Chris Taylor, aren’t done just yet.

The Dodgers, facing elimination in Game 5 of the National League Championship Series, flew past the Atlanta Braves 11-2 behind three home runs from Taylor to keep their World Series hopes alive.

The Dodgers now trail the Braves 3-2 in the NLCS heading into Game 6 in Atlanta on Saturday night.

Taylor is just the 11th player in MLB history to have a three-homer game in the postseason, and the first since Kiké Hernández did so for the Dodgers in 2017 against the Chicago Cubs.

“It’s just a cool night, definitely surreal,” Taylor said on SportsNet. “The biggest thing was that we were able to get the win and answer, and now we get to go to Atlanta which is what we wanted to do. For me I’m feeling good up there and not thinking too much, which is good.”

three homers in an LCS game:

Bob Robertson, PIT 1971
George Brett, KC 1978
Adam Kennedy, ANA 2002
Kiké Hernandez, LA 2017
Chris Taylor, LA 2021
— Jay Jaffe (@jay_jaffe) October 22, 2021

RoyalsRetro (AG#1F) Posted: October 22, 2021 at 10:14 AM | 4 comment(s) Login to Bookmark
Tags: chris taylor

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1. Addie Joss Posted: October 22, 2021 at 06:22 PM (#6048376)

Brett did it back in '78 in a game that the Royals lost to the Yankees.

2. Jack Sommers Posted: October 22, 2021 at 07:08 PM (#6048380)

Since integration, just two players to have played at least 10% of their games at each of 2b, SS, LF, & CF and register at least 10 career WAR. Both are starring in this year's post season

Rk              Player   PA WAR/pos From   To   Age   G   AB   R   H  2B 3B HR RBI  BB IBB  SO HBP SH SF GDP SB CS   BA  OBP  SLG  OPS         Pos              Tm
1         Chris Taylor 2700    15.2 2014 2021 23-30 743 2399 377 627 146 26 79 309 252   6 742  28  7 14  27 58 17 .261 .337 .443 .780   6874/H59D         SEA-LAD
2    Enrique Hernandez 2593    15.8 2014 2021 22-29 824 2299 336 557 129 15 91 287 245  11 527  21  6 22  32 13  3 .242 .318 .430 .748 84H7/6953D1 MIA-HOU-LAD-BOS 

Provided by Stathead.com: View Stathead Tool Used
Generated 10/22/2021.

3. Walt Davis Posted: October 23, 2021 at 05:32 PM (#6048583)

Interesting factoid but lots of things doing some "heavy lifting" there. Why those specific positions? Why 10% of their games? (Not a criticism, just an exploration)

For example, expansion era, at least 80 games at 2B, SS, LF, CF:

Woodie Held, Tony Phillips, Jerry Hairston Jr, Derrel Thomas, Willie Bloomquist, Emilio Bonifacio and Bob Bailor join the list.

Swap out 2B for 3B and ... Held, Phillips, Hairston, Thomas, Bloomquist, Bonifacio and Bailor all stay on the list and Howard Johnson, Melvin Mora, Luis Salazar and Harvey Kuenn make the list as well.

Or go back to 2B but swap LF for RF ... Held, Phillips, Hairston, Bloomquist and Bailor are still on the list and Eddie Miksis joins this one.

A guy like Jose Hernandez had over 100 games at 2B, SS, 3B; over 100 in the OF (mostly LF and CF); and 79 at 1B. He falls off the 10% criterion because he played in 1500+ games, more than twice as many as Chris Taylor has to this point; slightly less than twice as many as Enrique.

Oops I forgot the WAR criterion. So Held, Phillips and Hairston all meet it for 2B, SS, LF and CF and obviously the other combinations they qualified for earlier. HoJo, Mora and Kuenn satisfy it for 2B, 3B, LF, CF. Miksis does drop off the 2B, SS, CF, RF list.

Phillips of course needs no introduction around here. I was surprised to see Hairston got to 13 WAR but he did last for nearly 5000 PA, anywhere from replacement level to 2.6 WAR, only one season over 500 PA, a classic bench player.

Woodie Held was a very good player, mainly for Cle in the 60s -- 108 OPS+ hitter, good defender, 22 WAR. Over 500 games/starts at SS, almost 450 games in the OF (over 200 starts in CF but only 20 starts in LF), over 100 starts at 2B and at 3B. Doesn't make the original list because he made it to 1300 games and had "just" 113 games in LF (and 112 in RF). Anyway, the man had 100+ games at 6 positions.

So if you're looking for most versatile (or most rotated) players of the expansion era, Held and Phillips certainly belong on the list ahead of those two, possibly so do Hairston and maybe Jose Hernandez (and proably others like Jose Hernandez).

4. Starring Bradley Scotchman as RMc Posted: October 24, 2021 at 10:48 AM (#6048700)

Why those specific positions? Why 10% of their games?

And what does "integration" have to do with anything?

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Friday, October 22, 2021

Chris Taylor hits 3 home runs, leads Dodgers to huge NLCS Game 5 win over Braves

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