There is nothing quite as exciting as a Dodgers walk-off win except, of course, two Dodgers walk-off wins – on consecutive days, no less; something that we were all treated to on Sunday afternoon and Monday evening.

Andre Ethier trots home with the game-winning run in the bottom of the 11th inning on A.J. Ellis’ walk-off single. (Photo credit – Juan Ocampo)

After a two out single by Andre Ethier in the bottom of the 11th in a 3-3 tie with the San Diego Padres, Luis Cruz laced a single up the middle advancing Ethier to third base and bringing the ever-reliable A.J. Ellis to the plate. Cruz quickly took second on defensive indifference, not that his run would have mattered anyway but it removed a possible force out at second base. A.J. then slapped an 0-2 change-up (the third consecutive change-up by Padres reliever Cory Burns) softly to right field allowing Ethier to score the exciting winning run. But while all of the 33,540 fans at Dodger Stadium went absolutely crazy as Ethier trotted home with the winning run, the game actually came close to going into the 12th inning still tied – very close.

Unnoticed by most, Padres veteran right fielder Mark Kotsay fielded Ellis’ soft single and fired it quickly to first baseman Yonder Alonso. It was the only play that Kotsay had to try to prevent the winning run from counting. But in spite of A.J.’s relatively slow speed, he ran out the single at full speed and beat Kotsay’s throw by two or three steps to collect his second walk-off hit of the season and a Dodgers 4-3 win.

The point here is that had Ellis simply phoned it in and jogged to first base, it could have been a very embarrassing disaster; but phoning it in is simply not in A.J.’s DNA.

Had A.J. not run full speed to first base, he very well might have been thrown out by Padres veteran right fielder Mark Kotsay. (Video capture courtesy of Fox Prime Ticket).

Not only is A.J. Ellis an All-Star and Gold Glove caliber backstop and a genius with the Dodgers pitching staff, and not only does he sport the team’s second-best OBP (behind only Matt Kemp) and posses a very respectable .280 batting average, he also knows the game well – exceptionally well.

There’s smart and then there’s A.J. Ellis smart.

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Miscellany

• Monday night’s walk-off win was the 10th of the season for the Dodgers – tops in the National League.

• In addition to Ethier’s clutch two-out single in the bottom of the 11th inning which led to him scoring the eventual winning run on Ellis’ walk-off single, Ethier had an even more clutch two-out home run in the bottom of the 9th inning to tie the score at 3-3.  It was Ethier’s 16th home run of the season – third best on the Dodgers behind Hanley Ramirez (24) and Matt Kemp (18).

• A.J. Ellis’ walk-off single in the 11th inning gave newly acquired Dodgers reliever Brandon League his first win in a Dodger uniform.

• With star players Joc Pederson and Yasiel Puig out of the line-up due to injuries, the Rancho Cucamonga Quakes were eliminated from the Cal League’s final Wild Card berth on Monday afternoon as they fell to the Bakersfield Blaze (Reds) 7-4 in their final game of the season. The loss, coupled with a win by the Lake Elsinore Storm (Padres) over the Inland Empire 66ers (Angels), gave the Storm the final Wild Card spot. On the brighter side, both Pederson and Puig will represent the Quakes and Dodgers in the Arizona Fall League, as will Quakes pitching coach and former Dodgers pitcher Matt Herges.