The Los Angeles Dodgers avoided elimination, defeating the St. Louis Cardinals, 6-4, in Game 5 of the National League Championship Series today at Dodger Stadium, as Adrian Gonzalez hit two solo home runs and Carl Crawford and A.J. Ellis hit one each.
The home runs were the Dodgers’ first of the series and tied their team record for home runs in a postseason game, initially set in Game 4 of the 1977 World Series and tied in Game 1 of the 1978 National League Championship Series.
Zack Greinke was credited with the victory, allowing two runs and six hits over seven innings, striking out four and walking one.
Brian Wilson pitched a perfect eighth inning with one strikeout. The Cardinals got two runs and four hits off Kenley Jansen in the ninth before a crowd announced at 53,183. Jansen struck out three.
Joe Kelly allowed four runs and seven hits over five innings and was charged with the loss.
St. Louis leads the best-of-seven series, three games to two. Game 6 will be played Friday in St. Louis. Game 7, if necessary, would be played Saturday, also in St. Louis.
Gonzalez broke a 2-2 tie with his third-inning home run. Crawford homered in the fifth and Ellis in the seventh. Gonzalez hit his second home run in the eighth.
The Dodgers opened the scoring with two runs in the second. Gonzalez led off with a single, advanced to second on Yasiel Puig’s one-out single. Juan Uribe followed with a single, driving in Gonzalez and advancing Puig to second. Puig moved to third on Ellis’ foul out and scored on Greinke’s two-out single.
The Cardinals tied the score with two runs in the third. Carlos Beltran tripled in Matt Carpenter, who singled, and scored on Matt Holiday’s double.
Steven Herbert | City News Service
