San Francisco Giants manager Gabe Kapler summed it up best following his team’s 1-0 win over the Dodgers in Game-3 of the National League Division Series at Dodger Stadium on Monday night:

“I grew up here (in Hollywood), so I don’t remember a lot of nights at Dodger Stadium where the wind was blowing like that.”

The “like that” of which the Giants skipper speaks were the 15-20-MPH sustained winds which, at one point, actually blew Dodgers starter Max Scherzer off the mound – mid-wind-up.

That being said, future Hall of Famer Albert Pujols, who had two of the Dodgers’ five hits on the night, made it perfectly clear that the wind, as bad as it was, was no excuse for the Dodgers loss.

“Hey, it happens. That’s something that you cannot control, you know. It’s part of the game,” the 41-year-old / 21-year MLB veteran said postgame. “You can’t think it was cold; you can’t think the wind. Hey, it is what it is, you know. So, you can’t blame on the wind because of the loss again tonight. You know, it’s just part of the game, Mother Nature, and you have to respect that.”

And then there’s Giants shortstop Brandon Crawford, who made an impossible leaping catch of a blazing line drive to rob Dodgers right fielder Mookie Betts of what would have been a game-tying double with two outs and runners on first and second in the bottom of the seventh inning.

As for Scherzer, he, too, was brilliant, allowing only three hits, with one walk and 10 strikeouts in his 7.0 innings of work. Unfortunately, one of those hits was a fifth-inning solo home run by Giants third baseman and longtime Dodgers nemesis Evan Longoria.

“Once I was able to get through the second inning, that’s when I really felt like I found some rhythm and was able to start executing pitches,” Scherzer said. “Then from that point forward, I was able to execute with five pitches. But when you get to the postseason, you can always lose by one pitch. That comes into play. Tonight, I lost it on one pitch.”

During the blustery night, several should-have-been home runs were knocked down by the wind; none bigger than that by Dodgers pinch-hitter Gavin Lux on what ended up being a ‘routine flyball’ to Giants center fielder Steven Duggar for the final out of the game.

“My stomach pretty much sank when he hit it,” Longoria said postgame. “I couldn’t believe that it didn’t [go out]. But I guess it was just our night tonight.”

With their backs against the proverbial wall, Dodgers manager Dave Roberts said “Everything is on the table” for Game-4 on Tuesday night, even (very) strongly hinting that right-hander Walker Buehler will start the game on four days rest.

This is it, Dodger fans. The Dodger entire 106-win 2021 season all comes down to tonight’s game.

Play Ball!

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