ATLANTA — Without Andy Pages, the Dodgers wouldn’t have been enjoying champagne in the Truist Park clubhouse Wednesday night.
His October assessment suggested he was an unlikely hero. He entered Wednesday with a .123 batting average in the postseason. He was on the bench in Game 5 of the World Series last year. He had even started this postseason without a hit in the first two games of the National League Division Series against the Atlanta Braves, and received the red light for ABS challenges.
He brought none of that to the plate with him in the seventh inning, with the score tied, the bases loaded and Braves reliever Robert Suarez entering the game to face him.
“I like being among those at bats,” Pages said in Spanish after the Dodgers’ 4-1 victory in Game 4 of the NLDS. “There are times when the result comes, sometimes it doesn’t, but I prepare myself to be there. And today I was able to get the result.”
He was patient, taking a full count as he fouled, then throwing a pair of fastballs into the zone.
The next, he sent to the middle of the infield for a two-run single to finally give the Dodgers the lead in the deciding moment of the series.
The Dodgers are headed to the NL Championship Series for the ninth time in 14 seasons. They will face the Milwaukee Brewers, who finished off the San Diego Padres in four games, starting Sunday. And they moved closer to their goal of winning a third straight World Series.
Pages contributed to the last two titles with his regular season play and his glove. The game-saving catch he made in Game 7 of the World Series last year, stomping Kiké Hernández in the process, has been immortalized in action figure form. But now he’s having a big moment with his bat.
“There was never any doubt about him, about his talent,” Hernández said. “You can’t carry over previous playoffs into this playoffs. Everything is a new chapter. Every time you step on the field in October, you have the opportunity to rewrite your history. So just because he struggled in previous playoffs doesn’t mean it was going to happen again this year.
“I mean, during the regular season, you have two bad games and no one panics, but because people add up the previous playoffs, they’re going to panic. But no one doubted him. That’s why he stayed in the lineup. And I’m really happy that he was the one who won us a series.”
The signs of a possible escape were there. When Pages returned from a broken left hand for the final week of the season, he didn’t miss a beat.
Then he went 0 for 7 in the first two games of the NLDS, and manager Dave Roberts said he wanted to see him “slow down a little bit.”
“I’m going to continue to give Andy a leash,” Roberts said. “I believe in him. I think to win the World Series this year, we’re going to need him to be an active member of our team.”
Pages recorded two hits in Game 3 and another single in his first at-bat Wednesday.
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“Everyone really forgets how young Andy Pages is, you know? veteran infielder Miguel Rojas said of the 25-year-old. “He has just started his career. He is still like a rookie for us in this club, because he is one of the youngest. But at the same time, we see his potential, we see what he can do on the field and we are very proud of him because… every time he has the opportunity to contribute to this team, he does it in different ways. Defensively, offensively and on the bases.”
On Wednesday, Pages had already shown his range in center field when he spotted a ball off the bat of Matt Olson in the left field gap. But the Dodgers desperately needed someone to contribute runners in scoring position.
The game was tied at one point apiece going into the second inning.
The only run that Dodgers starting pitcher Tyler Glasnow gave up was made possible by the speed of Braves leadoff hitter Michael Harris II. He took Glasnow’s first pitch, a fastball up and out of the strike zone, to single to the right side.
Harris then stole second and advanced on a groundout. Then, in an 0 and 2 count against Ozzie Albies, Glasnow threw a curveball in front of home plate. Catcher Will Smith managed to block the ball, despite the high bounce, but he backed toward the mound, giving Harris time to get home.
Glasnow held the Braves to one hit in 4-2/3 innings. But five walks prevented him from getting deeper into the game.
The Dodgers also couldn’t get anything going against Braves starter Tyler Mahle.
They hadn’t faced Mahle since April, when he was with the San Francisco Giants and posted a 5.13 ERA. But he had been lights out since the Braves acquired him, putting up a 1.99 ERA. In his postseason debut, he held the Philadelphia Phillies to one run in seven innings.
The Dodgers saw this new and improved version of him on Wednesday.
The only run the Dodgers scored against him was somewhat of a fluke.
In the second inning, Shohei Ohtani, who went to the cleanup spot after reaching fifth the day before, drew a five-pitch walk without gaining momentum. He then stole second base, making an errant throw that allowed him to advance to third. Thus, he was in position to score the tying run when Braves shortstop Mauricio Dubón, who robbed Freddie Freeman of a homer as a left fielder the day before, dropped a popup to shallow left.
The Dodgers recorded just three hits against Mahle in 6⅓ innings. So the game would come down to the bullpen.
In the seventh, the Dodgers loaded the bases with a single by Teoscar Hernández, a walk by rookie Josue De Paula and a five-pitch walk by Kyle Tucker.
The Dodgers had gone 0 for 15 with runners in scoring position for the series when Pages intervened.
“It’s been incredible, especially the way he works, just to be ready for these big moments,” Teoscar Hernández said. “I think he was a little behind at the start of the series. Now that he understands that he doesn’t have to do much to help this team win games, I think it’s getting back to where he was before he got hurt.
“He’s one of the best on the team. We got to this point because of him, the regular season he had. It’s no surprise to me that he’s having this kind of moment in the playoffs.”
Pages didn’t seem surprised either.
“What happened last year happened,” he said. “That’s in the past now. All I can do now is be in the present moment. And being in the present moment today, I was able to get the result.”
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