RECAP

Phillies upset the Dodgers on Monday night as Clayton Kershaw was on the mound. Kershaw loaded the bases in the bottom of the 6th, with two walks and a single. With two down, Aaron Altherr hit a go-head grand slam. One pitch, one mistake was to be the difference-maker in the game as the Phillies went on to beat the Dodgers 4-3.

In the ninth inning, it looked as if the Dodgers would have a comeback when Curtis Granderson hit a solo shot, but the hit was a single-victory. Phillies pitcher Hector Neris struck out Corey Seager and Yasmani Grandal to end the game.

At the start, it seemed as if the Dodgers were going to knock around Phillies starter Nick Pivetta when Chris Taylor hit an inside-the-park home run with Justin Turner following with one of his own. That was all for the Dodgers until Granderson’s home run in the ninth.

Taylor’s home run makes it the first inside-the-park home run for a Dodgers player since Dave Roberts did it with the Dodgers on August 9, 2003. Since 1911 there hasn’t been a lead off the inside-the-park home run and a solo home run allowed back to back.

Playoff outlook

Dodgers had the opportunity to cut the magic number down to two with a win and an Arizona Diamondbacks loss. The Dodgers magic number reduces to three games with the Dodgers loss tonight and the Diamondbacks loss to the San Diego Padres. The Dodgers can win the division as early as Wednesday if the Dodgers win on Tuesday and Diamondbacks lose. It seems likely the Dodgers will win the pennant away from home with three more games in Philadelphia.

Nationals had an off-day on Monday increasing the Dodgers lead for home field advantage throughout the playoffs to 8. Dodgers having home field advantage can prove essential to their postseason run this year. As their record is 52-23 one of the best in baseball, to have that edge can be the difference maker.