Taking nothing away from Dodgers second baseman Gavin Lux, whose dramatic bottom-of-the-ninth / two-out double into the right-field corner drove in the tying and winning runs in the storybook ending of the Dodgers 5-4 walk-off win over the Philadelphia Phillies on Sunday afternoon, but there were several other heroes in a game that will be remembered – and talked about – for years to come.

First among them was 25-year-old Dodgers right-hander Michael Grove, who had (officially) been called up earlier in the day from Double-A Tulsa to make his Major League debut. The Wheeling, WV native was the Dodgers second-round draft pick in 2018 out of West Virginia University in Morgantown, WV.

Following Lux’s horrendous fielding error in the top of the second inning that led to all four of the Phillies unearned runs, Grove allowed only three additional hits (for a total of four), two additional walks (for a total of three), and two additional strikeouts (for a total of three) in his 3.2-inning MLB debut, all while consistently hitting 97(-ish) with his four-seam fastball.

And then there was 33-year-old/nine-year MLB veteran right-hander Shane Greene, whom the Dodgers signed as a minor league free agent on March 24 and assigned him to Triple-A OKC. Like Grove, Greene had (officially) been called up earlier in the day. In his two innings of relief on Sunday, the Clermont, FL native and 15th-round draft pick in 2009 by the New York Yankees out of Daytona State College in Daytona Beach, FL, allowed no runs and only two hits – both singles – with no walks and one strikeout, for which he was credited with the win, thanks to Lux’s dramatic walk-off-win double.

But without question, the biggest unsung hero of them all on Sunday afternoon was 26-year-old Dodgers center fielder Cody Bellinger who, with two outs and down to his final strike, lined a triple into the right-field corner to become the tying run on third base.

“To the victor belong the spoils.” – William L. Marcy

…all of them.

Play Ball!

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