Chris Taylor blasts three homers, Dodgers force NLCS Game 6 with Atlanta

LOS ANGELES -- Simply, it was one of the greatest, most magnificent power shows seen in the rich history of Los Angeles Dodgers’ postseason history.

Third baseman Chris Taylor hit three homers, drove in six runs, and produced four hits that had Dodger Stadium shaking Thursday in the Dodgers’ 11-2 rout over Atlanta , staving off elimination in the National League Championship Series.

It began when Taylor, starting at third base in place of injured Justin Turner, hit a two-run home in the second inning off Max Fried. He singled off Fried again in the third inning, driving in another run.

He hit a two-run homer off Chris Martin in the fifth inning.

And for an encore, he hit a solo homer off Dylan Lee.

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When the smoke cleared, Taylor was the 12th hitter in history to produce three homers in a postseason game, and the first since Kike' Hernandez for the Dodgers in Game 5 of the 2017 NLCS.

The Dodgers still trail 3-games-to- 2 in the best-of-seven NLCS, with the series moving to Atlanta, but they suddenly have new life, thanks to Taylor’s heroics.

Taylor’s four home runs in elimination games this postseason (he hit a walk-off homer in the Dodgers' 3-1 wild-card victory over St. Louis) are the most in baseball history.

It was that kind of night for the Dodgers who pulled off baseball’s version of a rope-a-dope.

The Dodgers were down, talking in subdued tones before the game, and were losing before most of the fans even got into their seats.

Then, the Dodgers do what they do best.

They broke the hearts of their opponents.

They got off the mat, and unleashed their most lethal offensive attack of the postseason.

The Dodgers, who could still have two more elimination games alone this series, live for these situations.

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They have won their last seven elimination games, and four of those have been against Atlanta, resurrecting memories of last year’s NLCS.

The Dodgers were also down 3 games to 1 to Atlanta a year ago, only to win three consecutive games en route to their first World Series title since 1988.

“This is a whole different team, a whole different thing,” Atlantafirst baseman Freddie Freeman said. “If anybody’s thinking about 2020. …That was last year. This is 2021. I think everybody wants to be in a (3-2) lead. …

“We’ve come this far. We can’t let anything deter us. We’ve overcome so much.’’

You think Atlanta is stressing, knowing that three-time Cy Young winner Max Scherzer is on the mound Saturday with All-Star pitcher Walker Buehler scheduled for a potential Game 7?

Then, you don’t know Atlanta.

“We’re a more mature team,” Atlanta manager Brian Snitker said. “We got a bunch of young guys that have been through these wars before, and now they’re through them again, and I think that bodes well for us. I think the experiences they have had over the last three years in getting to this position has really matured this club.

“I really believe that.’’

They’ll need that maturity to kick in after watching the Dodgers crush Fried. They ripped into him for eight hits and five runs in 4 ⅔ innings. This is a guy who yielded a 1.55 ERA in his last 14 starts, but in a four-batter span, gave up a homer to A.J. Polllock, a single by Albert Pujols, a homer by Taylor and a single by Cody Bellinger.

Atlanta was unable to recover after Fried lost Game 6 a year ago, but this time around they still have Ian Anderson in Game 6 and veteran starter Charlie Morton for a potential Game 7.

The Dodgers’ rejuvenated offense, producing 17 hits, must be stopped before they start to get that feeling they can pull this thing off.

The Dodgers are still playing on, thanks to a bullpen that allowed just three hits in 8 ⅓ innings after Freeman’s two-run homer off starter Joe Kelly, two homers by Pollock, three hits by Bellinger, and a performance by Taylor that will forever be etched in Dodgers’ folklore.

The Dodgers’ Hollywood story isn’t quite done yet.

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