After Cody Bellinger pulled off the catch of the postseason, tempers flared between the Dodgers and Padres.
Game 2 of the NLDS between the Dodgers and Padres blew up in the late innings, as San Diego toyed with tying the game, Los Angeles celebrated a miracle catch and trash talk boiled over for both teams.
It all blew up in the seventh inning as Fernando Tatis Jr. sent a hit into deep center field which looked destined to go over the wall for a two-run home run.
Instead, Cody Bellinger covered 97-feet in the blink of an eye and elevated to make an insane catch.
Frustration and joy clashed for the Padres and Dodgers after Cody Bellinger’s catch
The Dodgers celebrated the out, which ended the inning and preserved their 4-3 lead, with enthusiasm.
Pitcher Budsdar Graterol, who nearly gave up the go-ahead home run, was particularly pleased and made sure to direct some of that pleasure in a taunt towards the Padres’ dugout.
Manny Machado was not very happy about that.
The out was so important for the Dodgers because of what the Padres pulled off in the sixth inning. Manny Machado and Eric Hosmer hit back-to-back home runs on Clayton Kershaw to pull the Padres within one run.
Since LA won Game 1 in routine fashion, 5-1, San Diego needed to make Game 2 more competitive. They did that by scoring the first run of the game, but a three-run third inning for the Dodgers and another run in the fourth took much of the drama out of the outing. That is until Machado and Hosmer heated things back up.
Dodgers fans who had their hearts in their throats while watching Tatis Jr.’s shot sail towards the center-field wall can thank Bellinger for keeping Los Angeles in control.