Growing up, we were often told (or often heard) that ‘The pen is mightier than the sword.’ And although chances are exceptionally good that Thursday night’s exciting 3-2 Dodgers walk-off win over the Toronto Blue Jays – their second in as many games and their 12th of the season – will be remembered for Dodgers second baseman Kiké Hernandez‘s exciting bottom-of-the-ninth single to center field to drive in shortstop Corey Seager from second base for the win, the real game-winner was, of all things, an innocuous walk (‘the pen‘) by Dodgers first baseman Max Muncy to leadoff that epic and now historic inning.

Heading into the bottom of the ninth with the Dodgers trailing 2-0, Muncy drew that five-pitch walk off of Blue Jays right-hander Derek Law to give the Dodgers a pulse, albeit only a slight one. Just the night before, the 28-year-old Midland, TX native had slugged an exciting 10th-inning home run (‘the sword‘) to give the Dodgers a 2-1 walk-off win, their 11th of the season.

Muncy’s walk was followed by a sharp line drive out to center by Dodgers third baseman Justin Turner for the first out of the inning to make that slight pulse even slighter.

And then it happened … again.

Dodgers All-Star right fielder / first baseman (and 2019 National League-leading MVP candidate) Cody Bellinger absolutely smoked a double into the right field corner off of Law to move Muncy to third base. One batter later, Seager duplicated Bellinger’s double into the right field corner with one of his own to score both Muncy and Bellinger, thereby tying the game 2-2 and bringing Hernandez – on his bobblehead night no less – to the plate. On the third pitch from Law, Kiké lined a single to center to drive in Seager with the game-winning walk-off run … slight pulse be damned.

“We like to walk off,” a Gatorade-soaked / baby powdered-covered Hernandez told reporters after the game. “That situation, the pressure’s on [Law]. He just gave up a two-run lead and the winning run’s on second base, he still has to get two outs.

“Gave me a pretty good pitch to hit. I was able to stay through it and it got over the infield’s head,” Hernandez added about his first career walk-off hit.

“Twelve times and you expect it,” Dodgers manager Dave Roberts answered when asked if he and his team expect to come back and win almost nightly. “You don’t know who it’s going to be, but I think even after that [Muncy] walk leading off the inning, they felt it. You start having [that expectation] and it manifests itself.”

Lost in the shuffle but certainly worthy of mention was the absolute gem pitched by 31-year-old Dodgers right-hander Kenta Maeda, who gave his team six strong innings, allowing only two runs on four hits while walking one and striking out nine. Unfortunately, one of those hits was a sixth-inning solo home run by Blue Jays 20-year-old third baseman Vladimir Guerrero Jr. to give Toronto a 2-0 lead.

Ironically (and almost poetically), Maeda had the Dodgers only hit – a third-inning line drive single to right – heading into the bottom of the ninth. In other words, Blue Jays right-handed starter Jacob Waguespack, and right-handed reliever Jason Adam had a combined one-hitter going through eight strong innings until Bellinger’s double in the bottom of the ninth.

But here again, none of this would have happened were it not for Muncy’s quiet five-pitch walk to begin that exciting ninth inning.

The Pen is indeed mightier than the Sword.

…or in this case, the Walk mightier than the Home Run.

Play Ball!

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