LOS ANGELES _ On the 29th anniversary of Kirk Gibson's walk-off blast, the Los Angeles Dodgers added another chapter to franchise lore when Justin Turner thundered a game-winning, three-run homer with two outs in the ninth inning to give the Dodgers a 4-1 victory in Game 2 of the National League Championship Series against the Chicago Cubs.
The homer placed the Dodgers two wins away from the World Series, a stage they have not reached since 1988.
Turner hammered a 92-mph fastball from Cubs pitcher John Lackey to invite bedlam for the 54,479 fans at Dodger Stadium. The Dodgers hold a 2-0 lead in this best-of-seven series as it heads to Wrigley Field on Tuesday.
On Sunday, the Dodgers survived a quiet night from their own offense and leaned upon their relievers. Dodgers manager Dave Roberts opened his bullpen with glee. He removed starter Rich Hill after five innings, despite Hill giving up only three hits while striking out eight.
Cubs manager Joe Maddon turned to his relievers in less-tidy circumstances, far earlier than he had hoped.
The Dodgers forced Cubs ace Jon Lester to depart after 4 2/3 innings, the shortest of his 21 postseason starts. Lester was pitching on three days of rest. The Cubs needed him to throw 55 pitches as a reliever in Game 4 of the first round. Lester logged 3 2/3 innings and did something he has only done twice since 2016: He picked a runner off.
For more than half a decade, Lester has battled a mental block that prevents him from throwing the baseball to first base. In last October's NLCS, the Dodgers built a strategy around exploiting this weakness, only to see it backfire. Joc Pederson lined up like a sprinter. Enrique Hernandez danced like a maniac. The players appeared more interested in shenanigans than stealing bases, and Lester permitted two runs in 13 innings as the Dodgers lost both games.
Roberts expected fewer theatrics on Sunday. Unlike 2016, his lineup was not anemic against left-handed pitchers. He trusted his players to practice patience, drive up Lester's pitch count and feast on the middling members of the bullpen.
"They don't want to get into their 'pen," Roberts said before the game. "They want to stay away from it as long as they can."
Roberts lacked that fear about his own relievers. But he hoped for Hill to go deep. Hill created a crisis for himself in the third inning. He issued a leadoff walk to Cubs second baseman Javier Baez, who had walked in 5.9 percent of his plate appearances during the regular season. Baez stole second base and took third on a wild pitch.
With one out, Roberts moved his infielders to the grass. The positioning proved fruitful. Cubs outfielder Jon Jay chased a 3-1 fastball and pounded it into the grass. Cody Bellinger swooped in from first base, held Baez at third and stepped on the bag. Hill responded by whipping a series of fastballs past reigning National League MVP Kris Bryant to end the inning.
Lester defused a similar situation in the bottom of the inning. After a two-out walk by Turner, Bellinger recorded the Dodgers' first hit, a ringing double into the left-center gap. A late stop sign by third base coach Chris Woodward forced Turner to slide to a stop rounding third. Hernandez came to the plate.
He had walked in his first plate appearance. Hernandez attempted a reprise after Lester lost a 2-2 changeup in the dirt. He jogged to first base, only to see home-plate umpire Todd Tichenor waggling three fingers on his left hand and two on his right. Hernandez flied out on a full-count fastball and left the runners stranded.
Hill bent first. In the fifth, Chicago shortstop Addison Russell swung late at a pair of fastballs, lifting them foul along the first-base side. He found his timing on a 1-2 fastball that bisected the plate. Russell hooked a drive beyond the left-field fence for a solo home run.
Hill would not return for the sixth. After he got through the fifth, he left the dugout with Roberts. His spot was due up second in the batting order, and Curtis Granderson entered the on-deck circle. Hill returned to the dugout and flung a cup of water at the bench. He stewed next to pitching coach Rick Honeycutt as the Dodgers tied the score.
The rally started with Charlie Culberson, the team's replacement for injured shortstop Corey Seager. Culberson raked a leadoff double. Three batters later, Turner threaded a two-out single through the right side of the infield to bring Culberson home.
