Belli 'feeling confident' with same approach
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Reigning National League MVP Award winner Cody Bellinger, who homered in Game 3's 15-3 victory over the Braves and tripled in Game 2's 8-7 loss of the NL Championship Series, seemed amused when asked his thoughts on analysts Alex Rodriguez, David Ortiz and Frank Thomas breaking down his stance and swing on the FOX pregame show on Wednesday.
“Yeah, I mean, I didn’t even watch it,” said Bellinger. “It doesn’t bother me. I mean, I’m just going out, playing my game still. People are always going to have their opinion on everything. I just got to go out and play my game.”
The analysts focused on Bellinger’s stance, particularly how close he stands to home plate compared to last year.
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“It’s pretty similar,” Bellinger said. “I was on the dish last year. No one really said a word. It’s just I didn’t hit as well as last year, obviously. But I’m feeling confident, feeling good. It’s not about myself, it’s more about the team. That’s just a fact.”
Wood on Dodgers' dominant display
Former Brave and Georgia Bulldog alumnus Alex Wood said his Dodgers teammates issued “an incredible answer” to losing the first two games of the National League Championship Series with a 15-3 win in Game 3.
| Game | Date | Result | Highlights |
|---|---|---|---|
| Gm 1 | Oct. 12 | ATL 5, LAD 1 | Watch |
| Gm 2 | Oct. 13 | ATL 8, LAD 7 | Watch |
| Gm 3 | Oct. 14 | LAD 15, ATL 3 | Watch |
| Gm 4 | Oct. 15 | ATL 10, LAD 2 | Watch |
| Gm 5 | Oct. 16 | LAD 7, ATL 3 | Watch |
| Gm 6 | Oct. 17 | LAD 3, ATL 1 | Watch |
| Gm 7 | Oct. 18 | LAD 4, ATL 3 | Watch |
Shop for postseason gear: “It really felt like that was the first game of the year that we really put it all together in all aspects,” he said.
Wood also speculated that the Dodgers occasionally need to get “punched in the face” to bring out their best, borrowing an observation by Mookie Betts after a stinging loss to the Padres in mid-September. Wood said dominance in the regular season and annual postseason appearances and “you start to feel stagnant a little bit” when it becomes “expected and normal.”
• Dodgers set mark in power-packed 1st inning
“So they punched us in the face the first two games,” he said. “To see how we came back in the ninth inning of the second game and how we came out in the first inning last night was one of the cooler games I’ve been part of my whole career. It woke us up.
“The 2020 team, we’ve kind of out-talented everyone up until this point. The way we came back in Game 2 and answered yesterday, that checked a lot of boxes of if this is the best team I’ve ever been a part of. There’s a difference between the most talented [team] and the best team, but it’s scary to see the two combine, and it’s going to be a lot of fun the rest of the way.”
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Seager's surge
Past Octobers have not been kind to Dodgers shortstop Corey Seager, but this October there’s been a different Corey Seager. In 31 postseason games before 2020, Seager’s slashline is .203/.275/.331 with three home runs in 118 at-bats. This year: .367/.444/.800 with three home runs in 30 at-bats.
What has Seager learned from past failures that has resulted in his current clutch production?
“You’ve been around it. You know what to expect,” Seager said. “The game changes. You get pitched to differently. Taking your walks is just as good as a hit. Moving runners. Anything you can do to help your team win, you know? And results come. At the end of the day, you’re not worried about your own results, you’re worried about making the last out and winning games.”
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Did Seager feel he tried too hard to do too much on the big stage?
“I don’t know if it’s necessarily that, but definitely trying to be too aggressive,” he said. “Swinging at pitches you shouldn’t. Getting into bad counts. Not realizing how important moving the chain is. Not realizing how important just a walk is. You just kind of learn those things over the years and try to do them as best you can.”