It took 77 games, but the defending World Series champion Los Angeles Dodgers finally have their first walk-off win of the 2021 season. Cody Bellinger came off the bench and hit a walk-off homer run against Cubs righty Keegan Thompson on Saturday to give the Dodgers back-to-back wins following a four-game losing streak (LAD 3, CHC 2).
Here is the game-winning homer. Bellinger was not in Saturday’s starting lineup, but he entered the game as part of a double switch in the seventh inning. He flied out to center in his first at-bat before launching the walk-off homer next time up.
“It’s good to see him smile,” Dodgers manager Dave Roberts told reporters, including MLB.com’s Sarah Wexler, following Saturday’s game. Bellinger went into Saturday’s game hitting only .217/.349/.304 with one home run in 19 games around injuries this season.
Saturday’s game was not without controversy. In the seventh inning, Jason Heyward hit what appeared to be — and what was initially called — a go-ahead solo home run off righty Phil Bickford. The ball snuck just inside the left field foul pole. Here’s the video:
The Dodgers challenged the home run call and, after review, it was overturned and ruled a foul ball. I didn’t see indisputable evidence that the ball sailed foul, though the replay center has access to camera angles that aren’t shown on the broadcast, so perhaps they saw something more definitive. I would assume so seeing how the call was overturned.
Anyway, the call was overturned and the at-bat continued. Heyward singled to center following the non-homer, though he was quickly erased on a double play. The score remained 2-2 and the stage was set for Bellinger to win the game.
“It’s hard to see from my vantage point, but it looked like a home run,” Cubs manager David Ross told reporters, including the Chicago Tribune‘s Meghan Montemurro, following the game. “(Third base umpire D.J. Reyburn) called it a home run. They got together and conversed and I guess they overturned it … I got a boundaries call. All we can do at that point is trust in the video.”
The Dodgers and Cubs wrap up their four-game weekend series Sunday afternoon. Veteran righty Clayton Kershaw and neophyte righty Adbert Alzolay are the scheduled starting pitchers.
