A Thrilling Wild-Card Win Sets Up a Division Series for the Ages
LOS ANGELES — Nobody was hotter than the Cardinals as they thundered down the stretch of the 2021 season. St. Louis won 17 games in a row at one point, setting a franchise record and streaking into the postseason.
But with the embers still sizzling from a highly entertaining National League wild-card game here in Dodger Stadium on Wednesday night, Chris Taylor’s bottom-of-the-ninth, two-out, two-run homer that sent the Dodgers to a heart-thumping 3-1 victory served as a reminder that the Dodgers had been just as hot in the season’s final months.
While attempting to chase down San Francisco and avoid the embarrassing possibility of a loss stamping them with one-and-done status as an encore to their World Series title in 2020, they went 45-15 over their final 60 games.
They also finished the regular season by winning their final 15 consecutive home games, a franchise record.
