The Changeup: Cody B Makes Money Moves, Sends Dodgers to WS, Sun 10/18

LAD beats ATL 4-3, LAD Advances to the World Series

Out of 7 total runs scored by both teams today, only 3 came from solo homers and the other 4 came from RBI singles. The Dodgers outhit the Braves 10 hits to 3, stranding many baserunners, but still secured the W thanks to Cody B. He didn't have to dance, but he made money moves.

Braves Offense: See the Ball, Hit the Ball. The Braves scored 3 runs, 1 on a Swanson solo homer and the other 2 on good old-fashioned RBI singles. In all 3 ABs, the Braves batters put the ball in play on the 3rd or earlier pitch. When they saw the pitches they liked, they hit them. 

Braves Confused Baserunning. The Braves ran into a rare and unfortunate double play. Braves had runners on second and third when Markakis hit a ground ball straight to the third baseman. The runner on 3rd was running on contact, so he got caught up between 3rd and home. He gets tagged out pretty quickly by LAD Turner. While that was going on, Ron Washington waves in the runner from second to try to leg it out to third, but Turner was heads up and makes the throw back to 3B. The runner there also gets tagged out by a long shot. That was a very rare double play and a real waste of baserunners!

Cody B Launches One Then Dislocates Shoulder. Cody B hit a monster go-ahead HR in the 7th to give the Dodgers a 4-3 lead. It was a no-doubter. Cody just dropped his bat and slow walked for a few seconds watching it sail. The ball ended up landing about 15 rows deep into the right field stands. As he was celebrating, Belly actually dislocated his shoulder by giving too hard of a forearm bump to Kiké Hernández. Luckily, a trainer helped him pop his shoulder back in and he was good to go for the rest of the game. 

The World Series will be the Rays vs the Dodgers. It will be a David vs Goliath matchup. David is the Rays: the poor, unknown, and scrappy underdogs who are just excited to be there. This will be the Dodgers' 3rd trip to the World Series in the last 4 seasons and have double the Rays’ payroll budget. 

About the Author

Bonnie Young runs the Amplified blog. She shares her insights on market trends from US to Asia and interviews founders shaking up the tech scene. She has been passionate about baseball since the age of 13 and regularly attended A's games before the pandemic. Bonnie is currently looking for a growth equity or VC role in the Bay Area. You can reach her at bonnieyoung@berkeley.edu

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