MLB

Dodgers Avoid Sweep in Philadelphia Thanks to Pinch-Hit Homer by Andre Ethier

Andre Either hit a pinch-hit home run in the top of the seventh and the Los Angeles Dodgers rallied to defeat the Philadelphia Phillies, 5-4, avoiding the four-game sweep on Thursday afternoon at Citizen's Bank Park.

Have no fear, Andre is here!

Andre Either hit a pinch-hit home run in the top of the seventh and the Los Angeles Dodgers rallied to defeat the Philadelphia Phillies, 5-4, avoiding the four-game sweep on Thursday afternoon at Citizen's Bank Park.

The come-from-behind victory for the Dodgers snapped the team's four-game losing streak and guaranteed at least a share of their fifth consecutive National League West Division title.

The Dodgers lowered their Magic Number to a single game and can clinch the division as soon as Friday at home at Dodger Stadium against the rival San Francisco Giants.

In all four games of the series, a team has jumped out to an early 2-0 lead.

On Thursday, it was the Dodgers who struck first in the first inning after a leadoff single by Chris Taylor.

One batter later, Justin Turner was hit by a pitch on his right hand, injuring his thumb on the play. After the game, X-rays were negative, but the third leading hitter in the N.L. might miss a few games this weekend.

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"Any time you get hit in the hand, it's scary," Turner, who is day-to-day, said after the game. "The fact that I was able to stay in was a good sign. But we needed to get the X-rays anyway, just to make sure."

Yasiel Puig scored Taylor two batters later with a sacrifice fly and the Dodgers added another run in the top of the third thanks to an error by rookie Rhys Hoskins.

Trailing 2-0, Philadelphia rallied off Dodgers' starter Kenta Maeda in the bottom of the third inning. Nick Williams hit his 11th home run of the season, a two-run shot that tied the game.

Maeda didn't make it past the third inning as he did not factor in the decision, allowing two runs on three hits with two walks and three strikeouts in just three innings.

After the game, Dodgers' manager Dave Roberts announced that Thursday was Maeda's final start of the season and that the Japanese right-hander would transition to the bullpen for the final two weeks of the season.

Hoksins, the fastest in MLB history to hit 18 home runs, did not hit a home run in the series, but continued to be an offensive threat as he hit a two-run double off reliever Josh Fields in the bottom of the fifth to give the Phillies a 4-2 lead.

That's when the Dodgers mounted their comeback as Curtis Granderson hit his 25th home run of the season in the top half of the sixth when he sent a 89MPH fastball from Mark Leiter Jr. into the seats in right field.

Granderson is starting to break out of his slump, hitting two home runs with a double, three RBI, and two runs scored in the series.

One inning later, it was Andre Ethier who played the role of hero as he crushed a 94PMH fastball from relief pitcher Ricardo Pinto to opposite field, over the wall in left-center that tied the game at 4-4.

Ethier and veteran Adrian Gonzalez are both auditioning for a role as a left-handed pinch-hitter off the bench for the postseason roster.

"I'm just trying to be a baseball player," said Ethier. "It has been tough the last two years injury-wise. I think the one thing that has helped me over the last two years is having a lot of spring training and a lot of preparation with offseason and coming back after years. I'm taking the same frame of mind after the last two injuries to come back the same way in September."

After Ethier's homer, Taylor followed with a triple and scored on an RBI fielder's choice from rookie Cody Bellinger to give the Dodgers the lead.

Rookie Walker Buehler was the pitcher of record and earned the first Major League victory of his career.

Kenley Jansen pitched the ninth for his 39th save of the season.

Despite the three consecutive losses in the series, the Dodgers have still won 10 of the last 15 meetings with the Phillies.

Up Next:

Rich Hill heads to the mound on Friday at Dodger Stadium with a chance to clinch the N.L. West on the line. RHP Jeff Samardzija starts for the San Francisco Giants with first pitch scheduled for 7:10PM PST.

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