Baseball Champs

Baseball Champs

Sarah Ruggles, Photojournalist

As the 2016 MLB season slowly comes to an end, the Dodgers have claimed their fourth consecutive West Division Champions title and are now competing against the Chicago Cubs for the National League Championship.

On October 7th, the Dodgers took game 1 of the Nation League Division Series, beating the Nationals 4-3. The Dodgers had a solid lead of 4-2 for most of the game, until a double by Nationals Pedro Severino scored in the third run during the fourth inning to leave the Nationals down by one run. At 83 pitches through four tough innings, the Dodgers pitcher Clayton Kershaw began to become frustrated. Despite his frustration, though, he stayed in and finished the game, allowing no more runs to score.

Game 2 of the NLDS was won by the Nationals 5-2. The Dodgers did manage to score a run in the first and third inning to give them a lead. However, Nats Jose Lobaton hit a three-run homerun in the fourth inning to put the Nationals ahead by one run. Even though the Dodgers had bases loaded twice and with only one out, they just couldn’t knock any runs in.

Game 3 also wounded up in a victory for the Washington Nationals, beating the Dodgers 8-3. The Nationals started out strong that game, already having a 4-1 lead by the third inning. Throughout the game, despite the Dodgers best efforts, they just couldn’t catch up with the Nationals.

Game 4 led to a Dodgers victory against the Nationals with a score of 6-5. The entire game had people on the edge of their seats as the two teams were tied 5-5 for most of the game. It wasn’t until the eighth inning where they were finally able to score one more run, allowing them to stay alive and play in game 5. It was an exciting game as the two teams were tied 1-1 for most of it, until the Dodgers pulled ahead in the seventh inning. The Nationals, though, kept it close by scoring two runs also in the seventh inning, keeping the score 4-3. Fortunately, the Dodgers were able to maintain their one run lead. After their game, the Dodgers clinched as a congratulation to themselves, for they had won their fourth consecutive West Division Champions title.

The Dodgers are now competing for the National League Championship against the Chicago Cubs, and currently hold a 2-1 game lead. Jaclyn Hilton (10) commented, “I’ve been a Dodgers fan all my life…and I hope that they can beat the Cubs ad gain another Championship title.”