Seth Udinski, FISM News
In a busy night of sports, the defending MLB World Series champions kept their repeat hopes alive, while the NFL’s week seven began with a primetime clash in Cleveland.
Before a raucous crowd at Dodger Stadium, the L.A. Dodgers crushed the Atlanta Braves 11-2 in game five of the best-of-seven NLCS. The Braves entered the game ahead in the series 3-1 and were looking to finish off the Dodgers, but Chris Taylor put the Dodgers on his back with three home runs to send the series back to Atlanta for game 6. Along with keeping the Dodger’s World Series hopes alive, Taylor became the first player in MLB playoff history to hit three home runs in an elimination game.
Taylor’s first blast put Los Angeles ahead for good in the bottom of the second inning:
Chris Taylor is gonna make some nice money this offseason pic.twitter.com/0wpfVvqpJ0
— Eric Hubbs (@BarstoolHubbs) October 22, 2021
His second came in the 5th inning:
The Chris Taylor Game! pic.twitter.com/zZ2BEubHQo
— Baseball Bros (@BaseballBros) October 22, 2021
His third came in the 7th, and by this point the Dodgers were comfortably ahead.
CHRIS TAYLOR HAS THREE HOME RUNS 🤯 pic.twitter.com/T4asIeHn54
— the Sports ON Tap (@thesportsontap) October 22, 2021
Braves fans may start to feel uneasy, as they’ve seen this story play out before, specifically in last year’s NLCS. In 2020, the Braves jumped out to a 3-1 series lead against the Dodgers but lost the last three games to squander the chance to go the World Series.
They took the same series lead this year, only to now let the series reach game six once again. The advantage they have this year as opposed to last year is that they have the chance to win the series in front of their home crowd in game six, and if necessary, in game seven.
In the other World Series qualifier, the Red Sox and Astros meet in game six of the ALCS in Houston tonight. Houston leads the series 3-2.
Meanwhile in football, the Cleveland Browns edged out a win in Cleveland against the Denver Broncos, 17-14. Cleveland backup Case Keenum filled in admirably for an injured Baker Mayfield, throwing for 199 yards and a touchdown. Cleveland improved to 4-3 on the year, while Denver dropped to 3-4.