For the second time in as many days, the Dodgers pulled off a come-from-behind win of epic proportions.

For the second time in as many days, it was Dodgers outfielder Matt Kemp who orchestrated that come-from-behind win.

On Saturday night it was an impossible three-run home run off of Arizona Diamondbacks closer Archie Bradley on a 1-2 count with two outs in the bottom of the eighth inning to give the Dodgers the eventual 3-2 win over the Dbacks.

On Sunday afternoon it was an even more impossible two-run double on the first pitch off of (wait for it…) Arizona Diamondbacks closer Archie Bradley with one out and runners on second and third in the bottom of the ninth inning for a dramatic 3-2 walk-off Dodgers win that not only gave them a 3-1 series win over the Dbacks, but also propelled them into sole possession of first place in the wild National League West.

Kemp told reporters after the game that he was surprised when Dbacks manager Torey Lovullo pulled Brad Boxberger and brought in Archie Bradley to face him again … surprised but grateful.
(Photo credit – Ron Cervenka)

But lost in the postgame celebration (and obligatory Gatorade shower) on the field in front of 48,517 absolutely frenzied Dodger fans, and even during the array of enthusiastic postgame interviews of the day’s heroes (especially Matt Kemp) in an electric Dodgers clubhouse stood a quiet 26-year-old September 1 call-up whose footprint was still visible on home plate with what proved to be the game-winning run. It was the footprint of 26-year-old Tim Locastro, who every radio and television reporter, Dodgers beat writer, and even every blogger managed to completely overlook.

All but one.

“I mean, whenever somebody gets on base and everything, I’m ready to go. I’m stretching, getting loose, so I’m ready whenever,” the Auburn, New York native and 2013 13th-round draft pick (by the Toronto Blue Jays) out of Ithaca College told ThinkBlue LA. “Once they call my name, I’m ready to go.”

What was it like to be the winning run in the second of two consecutive extremely exciting come-from-behind wins against the (former) division-leading Diamondbacks?

“It’s surreal, but when you get [called] up, you want to contribute any way you can, and I was fortunate enough to be in there today and help the team.”

Known for his speed and base running prowess, Locastro was called up by the Dodgers to be used primarily as a pinch runner in crucial situations … say like when your team is down 3-1 in the bottom of the ninth with runners on first and second, and with Saturday night’s hero Matt Kemp coming to the plate.

After a pinch-hit leadoff walk by fellow September 1 call-up Alex Verdugo followed by a second walk by Dodgers first baseman Max Muncy – both off of Dbacks reliever Brad Boxberger, Dodgers manager Dave Roberts had Kiké Hernandez lay down a sacrifice bunt, which he did to perfection, to move Verdugo to third base and Locastro to second with one out.

It was here that the Perfect Storm developed for the Dbacks.

For reasons that only he knows, Diamondbacks manager Torey Lovullo opted to remove Boxberger and replace him with Archie Bradley to once again face Matt Kemp. The rest, as they say, is history, with Verdugo and Locastro both scoring on Kemp’s double off the wall in left-center field.

But for as simple as it might seem to score the winning run from second base on a double off the wall for the (now) fastest guy on the team, doing so came with a rather unique challenge for the extremely polite and soft-spoken Locastro.

“It was amazing. I mean, everybody was running out [of the dugout],” Locastro said. “Some people thought it was a home run, so I was weaving through people. So I just had to make sure I touched home. That’s all I was worried about.”

Worry no more. Locastro’s footprint is as firmly embedded on home plate as was Neil Armstrong’s first footprint on the moon 23 years before Locastro was born.

Locastro had to make sure that he touched home plate with the winning run while avoiding his teammates rushing out of the dugout to swarm game hero Matt Kemp. (Photo credit – Ron Cervenka)

Well done, young man.