They have a pulse.
Justin Turner hit a go-ahead two-run homer and Hyun-Jin Ryu tossed six strong innings as the Los Angeles Dodgers kept their postseason hopes alive and well with a 3-1 win over the rival San Francisco Giants on Friday night at AT&T Park.
Los Angeles decreased their magic number to clinch their sixth consecutive postseason berth to one, meaning any combination of a Dodgers victory or St. Louis Cardinals loss in the final two games of the season guarantees them at least a spot in the NL Wild Card game on Tuesday.
"Obviously, the goal every year is to get into the postseason," said Turner. "As long as we have a chance, we like our chances."
The victory also keeps pace with the Colorado Rockies who remain one game ahead of the Dodgers in the NL West after defeating the Washington Nationals, 5-2, earlier in the evening for their eighth consecutive win.
"They're playing well. They've run off eight in a row," said Dodgers' manager Dave Roberts of the Rockies. "They're winning baseball games and we have to keep pace. We just have to control what we control."
Ryu and Madison Bumgarner were engaged in a pitcher's duel for most of the night until Turner broke up a tie game with a two-run blast off the left-hander in the top of the fifth.
Turner hit his fourth career homer off Bumgarner on a first-pitch 90MPH fastball that just crept over the heart of the plate.
"I was trying to be ready to hit," said Turner of his home run. "I was pretty patient in my first couple at-bats off him and wanted to be ready to jump on the first pitch. He threw a fastball and was trying to go in, but he left it over the middle."
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The Dodgers third baseman has now reached base safely in 48 of his last 50 games since being reinstated from the disabled list on Aug. 2nd.
Since the All-Star Break, Turner leads all of baseball with a .372 batting average and is third in OPS with a 1.090.
Bumgarner (6-7), took the loss, allowing three runs on seven hits with one walk and six strikeouts.
"I'd like to have the one to (Turner) and Machado back if I could go back and take them back," said Bumgarner.
Super-utility player Kiké Hernandez continues to be Bumgarner's kryptonite, as he recorded three hits against the southpaw, improving his average to .487 against him in his career.
In his final start of the regular season, Hyun-Jin Ryu (7-3) surrendered one run on four hits with two walks and three strikeouts in six strong innings.
"Guys that pitch well in big games can command the baseball," said Roberts of Ryu. "They don't beat themselves. He really wanted to make a statement and finish in the rotation."
In 15 starts this season, Ryu is 7-3 with a 1.97 ERA with 89 strikeouts and just 15 walks. Ryu improved to 5-6 against San Francisco in his career, and is 5-0 with a 1.83 ERA against NL West opponents this season.
Nick Hundley knocked in the only run of the game for the Giants with a solo shot off Ryu in the bottom of the second inning that just cleared the orange Chevron car in left field to give San Francisco an early 1-0 lead.
"The pitch to Hundley, I didn't want to command it there, but it just happened that way," said Ryu through a translator.
Pedro Baez entered the game in relief in the seventh inning and struck out two batters before leaving the game for left-hander Alex Wood. Baez has tossed 17 games of scoreless relief in his last 18 appearances since Aug. 13.
Kenely Jansen pitched a scoreless ninth for his 38th save of the season, recoding the Dodgers season-high fifth double-play of the game to end it.
The Dodgers are vying for their sixth consecutive postseason, a feat that has only been accomplished by the Braves and Yankees.
Up Next:
Three-time Cy Young Award winner Clayton Kershaw heads to the mound on Saturday with a chance to clinch a postseason berth for Los Angeles.
Rookie Dereck Rodriguez will pitch for the Giants. First pitch is scheduled for 1:10PM PST.
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