⚾ Dodgers-Giants: A Prized Fight That Never Stopped Giving

What the Giants and Dodgers gave us this year was a stunning treat that no one predicted. [View in browser]( [FOX SPORTS INSIDER WITH MARTIN ROGERS] In today’s FOX Sports Insider with Martin Rogers: The real sadness in the Dodgers-Giants series wasn’t that there was a blown call, but that it had to end at all ... we take a look at some important injury news ahead of Week 6 of the NFL season ... and we are treated to a must-see video of Vita Vea. There are so many different ways that it could have ended, this glorious, emotional, dramatic, season-long slugfest between the Los Angeles Dodgers and the San Francisco Giants, and virtually all of them would have seemed more appropriate. Deep into Thursday night, Max Scherzer – pressed into action as the Dodgers’ closer – threw a pitch to Giants first baseman Wilmer Flores, with L.A. leading 2-1 in the ninth inning and two strikes on the board. Flores checked his swing, but was called out anyway, and that’s all she wrote, after six-and-a-half months, 24 games, an incredible arm-wrestle of a divisional race and a compelling struggle of a National League Divisional Series. It should have shaken out some other way, you felt. A walk-off dinger, perhaps, a spectacular play in the field, or at least a fiery fastball to close the game on a strikeout. That would have been nice, sure. And yet, in truth, however this intriguing battle wound up there would have been a sense of regret at seeing it pass us by, for it has been baseball’s golden balm all year long. [STORY IMAGE 1] It feels somewhat strange that the finish of this battle between a 107-win team and another that collected 106 isn’t the end of the season. But no, there are still two gripping championship series matchups to come, then the Fall Classic itself. That one of those combatants, the Giants, are now on the outside looking in, scarcely seems fair, but that’s baseball and that’s just how rare this was, that the Dodgers could be the second-best team in baseball yet still land in the wildcard. It’s been incredible, frankly, this ongoing war between two franchises that share so much history, dating back all the way to when they both resided on the other side of the country and also to the modern links, with Giants manager Gabe Kapler and president of baseball operations Farhan Zaidi both having cut their teeth in the blue-hued system. Baseball’s regular season has rarely been as good as this and it was because of a pair of factors. Across the majors a crew of exhilarating youngsters, led by Shohei Ohtani, did unfeasible things, and did them with style and flourish. Then, you had the ongoing battle in the NL West, which was a prize fight that never stopped giving. [STORY IMAGE 2] It was supposed to look like something else. The Giants were no one’s idea of a contender, predicted to finish low down the pecking order with a lineup that lacked superstar firepower. The head-to-head, wisdom suggested it would be between the Dodgers and the San Diego Padres, who came with big spending, a ton of belief and the magic of Fernando Tatis Jr. Not so. The Giants got going early and what started as a cute little spring tussle continued throughout, gaining in gravitas all the while. The Dodgers were so loaded that the total falloff in form of 2019 NL MVP Cody Bellinger and a late campaign injury to Clayton Kershaw were mere blips. The Giants saw sensational productivity from so many that it feels unfair to select a handful, like Brandon Crawford, Buster Posey and LaMonte Wade Jr. There was mutual respect between the teams for how could there not be? Who better to appreciate just how difficult it is to win so many games than the opponent that virtually did the same thing? “It’s personal to them, so it’s personal to us.,” Scherzer said. “We want to win, we respect the heck out of the Giants and how good they are, but you got to go out there and believe that you can beat them.” [STORY IMAGE 3] The Dodgers, ultimately, had too much firepower, with that roster stacked deep. Even so, the Giants pushed them to the brink and forced them to go for analytics rather than convention in Game 5, starting with relievers so that stud Julio Urias could enter in the third inning with the game still scoreless. It was tense and tight, and how appropriate that it was. Baseball goes as it goes, but it would have been an anomaly if two teams that nipped at each other’s heels all year wrapped things up with a blowout. Logan Webb was imperious for the Giants, Urias gave up just a single homer and finally, in a twist that was in some ways unexpected and in some ways anything but, Bellinger, the former rock of the lineup but coming off a horrid season, had the decisive RBI. [STORY IMAGE 4] What the Giants and the Dodgers gave this year was a stunning treat that no one predicted. It was the best of what sports can offer, a tussle of the minds, a fierce clash of wills, a gripping narrative and a matchup decided by the narrowest of margins after the longest time. Baseball’s tales unfold gradually and they’re sometimes a slow burn, but this one wasn’t. It was a fight that started out strong and just kept getting better, more addicting, even more watchable, all the way to the end. So yes, when Flores held up, the first base ump shouldn’t have called it. The story should have had a little more to it. But the real sadness wasn’t that there was a blown call, but that it had to end at all. [STORY IMAGE 5] Here’s what others have said ... Graham Couch, Lansing State Journal: “The Dodgers haven’t accomplished anything here. With double the payroll of the Giants, they won a narrow series victory after winning fewer regular season games.” Ben Verlander, FOX Sports: “Kudos to this 2021 San Francisco Giants team. What an incredible season that nobody saw coming. It was remarkable. Unfortunate it had to end in the NLDS. Wish these two faced off in the NLCS.” Pedro Moura, FOX Sports: “There are no maybes anymore. The Giants are going their separate ways for the offseason. The Dodgers are drinking into the night and flying to Georgia to fight for their fourth World Series bid in five years.” [IN OTHER WORDS] - Selecting the top college football player from all 50 states was no easy task. [FOX Sports Senior Editor Sean Merriman takes a look at some of the juiciest debates](. - By the narrowest of margins, Dave Roberts’ blueprint eked the Dodgers past the Giants and into the NLCS. [FOX Sports MLB Writer Pedro Moura has the story](. - Entering Week 6 of the NFL season, looking at team health through one key metric can provide helpful, [FOX Sports Injury & Performance Analyst Dr. Matt Provencher writes](. [THE INTERNET IS UNDEFEATED] [THE INTERNET IS UNDEFEATED]( Leonard Fournette put on a rushing clinic in the Buccaneers’ 28-22 win over the Philadelphia Eagles on Thursday night. In return, he was featured in the postgame interview, but all eyes were on Bucs defensive tackle Vita Vea and his struggle to get his pads off. From the looks of it, Vea was in the process of a postgame jersey swap with the Eagles’ Jordan Mailata, but got stuck in the process. We’ve all heard of a photobomb, how about a videobomb? Thankfully Vea got some help and it all worked out. [VIEWER'S GUIDE] Boston Red Sox at Houston Astros (FOX, 8 p.m. ET) Chris Sale takes the mound for the Boston Red Sox, who take on Framber Valdez and the Houston Astros in Game 1 of this ALCS matchup. Oklahoma State at Texas (Saturday, FOX, 12 p.m. ET) Bijan Robinson and the No. 25 Texas Longhorns host Spencer Sanders and the No. 12-ranked Oklahoma State Cowboys in a Big 12 showdown. Kentucky at Georgia (Saturday, CBS, 3:30 p.m. ET) Will Levis leads the No. 11-ranked Kentucky Wildcats into Athens to face Zamir White and the No. 1-ranked Georgia Bulldogs. Arizona Cardinals at Cleveland Browns (Sunday, FOX 4:05 p.m. ET) Kyler Murray and the Arizona Cardinals travel to Cleveland to battle Baker Mayfield and the Cleveland Browns. [BET OF THE DAY] [BET OF THE DAY] Odds provided by [FOX Bet]( Kentucky Wildcats at Georgia Bulldogs: Georgia -22.5 Via FOX Sports’ Geoff Schwartz Kentucky's defense is poor outside of third-and-long, while Georgia's offense ranks first in the country in average third-down distance. The Bulldogs find ways to prolong drives, a backbreaker for opposing defenses. Georgia's offense ranks 14th in points per drive as well. Give me the Bulldogs laying the points in a rout. [WHAT THEY SAID] “I never had a job. I just always played baseball.” — Satchel Paige [FOLLOW FOX SPORTS] [Twitter]( [Facebook]( [YouTube]( [Instagram]( Download FOX Sports App: [Fire TV]( [Roku]( [Google Play]( [App Store]( [Fire TV]( [Roku]( [App Store]( [Google Play]( Also available on these devices: [fireTV | AppleTV | ROKU | Google Chromecast | XBOX ONE | SAMSUNG Smart TV] [fireTV | AppleTV | ROKU | Google Chromecast | XBOX ONE | SAMSUNG Smart TV] Trademark & Copyright Notice: ™ and © 2021 Fox Media LLC and FOX Sports Interactive Media, LLC. All rights reserved. Please do not reply to this message. If you do not wish to receive emails like this in the future, please [unsubscribe](. FOX Sports respects your privacy. Click [here]( to view our Privacy Policy. Fox.com Business & Legal Affairs - Manager Digital Media P.O. Box 900 Beverly Hills, California 90213-0900