All Ball Sports: Dodgers most unlikely hero, Costa stopped, Redondo resumes
by Paul Teetor
Jackie Robinson, Duke Snider, Kirk Gibson and …. Tommy Edman?
Yep, that’s a list of Dodger postseason hitting greats who carried their teams to memorable triumphs.
Wait – Tommy who?
That would be Tommy Edman, a utility player the Dodgers picked up from the Saint Louis Cardinals in an under-the-radar move at the mid-season trade deadline. He was on the injured list most of the season and didn’t play for the Dodgers until August 19, so most casual Dodger fans had never heard of him until last week, when he suddenly got red-hot at the plate and started lashing line drives and bashing home runs with regularity.
With Freddie Freeman hobbled by a badly sprained ankle and suffering through a 1-for-17 slump, Shohei Ohtani having a mediocre (for him) post-season and Mookie Betts ice-cold until the last couple of games, the Dodgers desperately needed someone – anyone – to step up and fill the power void.
Edman filled that need so well that by the end of the Dodgers four-games-to-two win over the New York Mets in the National League Championship Series manager Dave Roberts had him hitting clean up in the Dodgers batting order.
His hot streak climaxed Sunday night in the Dodger’s series clinching 10-5 win over the Mets.
Edman’s two-run double in the bottom of the first accounted for the first and only lead change of the entire series, putting L.A. in front, 2-1. Edman, who was named the series MVP after the game, later added a two-run homer in the third to make it 6-1.
While the Dodgers’ front office had their eyes on Edman well before they were able to acquire him at the trade deadline, not even President of Baseball Operations Andrew Friedman had factored “potential postseason hero” into their evaluation.
But by the eighth inning Sunday night, when Edman – who is hitting .340 in the postseason, was 11 for 27 in this series and tied Corey Seager’s franchise record of 11 RBIs in a League Championship Series — was hearing “M-V-P” chants raining down from all corners of Dodger Stadium.
“It’s pretty crazy, especially with the history of the organization to have tied that record,” Edman said. “I had no idea about it until after the game.”
His two-run double in the first inning put the Dodgers ahead, and then his two-run homer in the third inning padded the lead.
Edman, 29, is a classic “utility-man,” a guy who can play second base, third base, shortstop and even the outfield if that’s what the team needs. But he was widely regarded as insurance against injury and depth behind the starters rather than a guy who could light up the scoreboard like the big boys.
“After the way the season started, to end up in this situation today is crazy,” Edman said. “The team welcomed me with open arms. Can’t wait to keep it going.”
Manager Dave Roberts, who put Edman in the cleanup spot for Games 5 and 6, said he was impressed with how much Edman was able to contribute after missing so much time.
“It’s a crazy trajectory,” Roberts said. “I can’t say enough about the front office being able to acquire him at the deadline. You know what he can do for us on the field and in the clubhouse. It’s just amazing. I never imagined, once we acquired him, he’d hit fourth in a postseason game. But I trust him. The guys trust him. He’s made huge defensive plays for us and had huge hits.”
Friedman said the Dodgers had been trying to get Edman for years. His versatility was particularly attractive.
“Just a really good baseball player,” Friedman said. “Shortstop Miguel Rojas gets hurt and Edman goes from center field to shortstop. There aren’t a lot of guys on Earth who can do it at such a high level. He’s a really good baseball player. Just had his nose in the middle of everything we had going in the series.”
A switch-hitter, Edman has been deadly against left-handed pitchers. He was 7 for 12 in the NLCS against lefties, including his two big hits early in the game against Mets lefty Sean Manaea.
The Dodgers trailed, 1-0, in the first when Edman reached for a pitch over the outer half of the plate and yanked it into the left field corner for a two-run double. That accounted for the only lead change in the entire six-game series.
Two innings later, Edman got a fastball at the top of the zone and he hit it over the fence in dead center field for a two-run homer to put the Dodgers up, 4-1.
The lead remained at least three runs for the rest of the game, sending the Dodgers into the World Series against the New York Yankees for the first time since 1981.
“It’s what you always dream about as a little kid, getting to play in the World Series,” he said. “Playing for the Dodgers against the Yankees.”
Jackie Robinson, Duke Snider, Kirk Gibson, Tommy Edman and…who’s next?
It’s just one of a million reasons fans are so excited for a classic Dodgers vs. Yankees World Series: to see what player will ignite the Boys in Blue to their first real World Series title since 1988.
Mustangs Ground Game Halted
The Mira Costa football team had a chance to grab first place in the Bay League Friday night when they traveled to Inglewood.
But instead, the Mustangs fell 27-7 to Inglewood, which now takes the top spot the Mustangs had hoped to win for themselves.
It was a scoreless struggle for the first half. Costa failed to carry over the momentum generated by last week’s offensive breakout in which the Mustangs rushed for more than 550 yards in a win over Culver City, with running back A.J. McBean accounting for more than 300 yards by himself.
The different tone for this game was set early, as McBean was injured in the first quarter and the Mustangs could only generate 34 yards on the ground in the entire first half.
But Inglewood, playing at home in Coleman Stadium, could do no better and the two teams fought to a 0-0 halftime tie.
Costa Coach Don Morrow was impressed that Inglewood could stop a run game that had been so prolific just the week before.
“They’ve got a bunch of dudes up front,” Morrow said.
Inglewood’s defense produced four sacks and a forced fumble to shut down the Mustang offense while Inglewood’s offense finally exploded in the second half with four touchdowns on their way to 27 points.
Next week, the Sentinels (8-0, 3-0) will host defending league champion Palos Verdes, which has won 12 of the last 13 Bay League titles.
Mira Costa (5-3, 2-1) ran for 147 yards, but 132 were courtesy of quarterback Liam Meeker after having to avoid heavy pressure for most of the night.
Inglewood’s 27-second half points came off two touchdown passes by quarterback Kingston Tisdell and scoring runs from running backs Victor Santino and Austyn Tillman.
After a strip-sack of Costa quarterback Liam Meeker at the Inglewood 42-yard line, the Sentinels quickly capitalized and scored after a Tillman 23-yard run set up Santino’s 1-yard score with 4:11 left in the third quarter.
After Mira Costa punted back, Santino returned the favor with a 39-yard dash just before Tillman’s 11-yard score to push the lead to 13-0 in the first minute of the fourth quarter.
The Mustangs’ lone touchdown came on a trick play, with receiver Eli Cebula throwing a 64-yard touchdown to wide receiver Barrett Ryan to cut the deficit to 20-7.
But Tisdell’s two touchdowns in the final 6 minutes put the game away.
Costa will host Leuzinger next Friday night.
Redondo bounces back
The Redondo football team bounced back from a loss to North last week to post a 28-14 victory over Santa Monica behind the passing and running of quarterback Cole Leinart.
Leinart connected on 10 of 17 passes for 127 yards and also carried the ball 7 times for another 92 yards. Junior wide receiver Bo Ausmus was his main target, snaring 6 passes for 76 yards.
Halfback Ethan Maleman balanced out the Sea Hawk attack, running 19 times for 173 yards.
The win lifted Redondo’s record in the Pioneer League to 2-1 and 6-2 overall. They will play Peninsula at Peninsula next week.
Contact: teetor.paul@gmail.com