Reporting from Milwaukee — The final word didn’t come in the form of a thunderous home run or a lightning bolt of a throw across his body.
With the continuous and deafening boos making Miller Park sound like a hive of angry bees Saturday night, Manny Machado responded not with brute force but with graceful technique.
The villain of this postseason worked a full count against Milwaukee Brewers starter Jhoulys Chacin in the second inning, then did the unexpected.
He bunted.
The fans here taunted Machado mercilessly over the last two days.
This was payback, and not only because Machado caught third baseman Mike Moustakas and everyone else in the indoor stadium off-guard.
Machado’s bunt single was followed by a two-run home run by Cody Bellinger that reversed a one-run deficit, bestowing the Dodgers with a lead they never relinquished in an eventual 5-1 victory. The Dodgers won the National League Championship Series, four games to three, and were headed to the World Series. The Brewers and their fans weren’t.
“This is the best, this is the best,” Machado said in Spanish on how the stadium was silent by the end of the night.
What the Dodgers learned in their Game 7 triumph was that their rent-an-All-Star is a player who thrives in times in conflict. At very least, he doesn’t mind it.
Switching to English, the bilingual Machado said, “I just hear what they say. Just enjoy it. They’re always going to boo the best, so I just take it all in.”
The bunt was an instantaneous reaction to what he perceived to be a slight.
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Dodgers Yasiel Puig celebrates with Manny Machado in locker room after capturing the National League Championship Series. (Wally Skalij/Los Angeles Times )
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Dodgers Yasiel Puig celebrates in locker room after Dodgers defeated Brewers 5-1. (Wally Skalij/Los Angeles Times / )
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Dodgers celebrate in the locker room after winning game seven of the National League Championship Series. (Wally Skalij / Los Angeles Times)
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The Dodgers celebrate a 5-1 win over the Brewers in game seven. (Robert Gauthier / Los Angeles Times)
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Dodgers celebrate after capturing game seven of the National League Championship Series against the Milwaukee Brewers at Miller Park. (Wally Skalij/Los Angeles Times / )
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The Dodgers pose for pictures after beating the Brewers in game seven of the National League Championship Series against the Milwaukee Brewers at Miller Park. (Wally Skalij/Los Angeles Times / )
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Dodgers Clayton Kershaw celebrate with teammates after defeating the Brewers 5-1 in game 7 at Miller Park. (Wally Skalij/Los Angeles Times )
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David Freese’s baby crawls over the NLCS logo as the team celebrates a 5-1 win over the Brewers. (Robert Gauthier / Los Angeles Times)
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Dodgers Clayton Kershaw kisses his daughter after game seven. (Robert Gauthier / Los Angeles Times)
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Joc Pederson celebrates with Dodgers teammates after beating the Brewers 5-1 in game sevem. (Robert Gauthier / Los Angeles Times)
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Dodgers Clayton Kershaw celebrates following the National League Championship Series. (Wally Skalij/Los Angeles Times / )
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Yasiel Puig and Clayton Kershaw celebrate a 5-1 win over the Brewers in game seven. (Robert Gauthier / Los Angeles Times)
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Dodgers Manny Machado celebrate after game seven of the National League Championship Series. (Wally Skalij/Los Angeles Times / )
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Brewers shortstop Orlando Arcia tags Kiké Hernandez who is caught stealing in the seventh inning in game seven. (Robert Gauthier / Los Angeles Times)
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Dodgers Yasiel Puig celebrates after hitting a three run homer in the sixth inning. (Robert Gauthier / Los Angeles Times)
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Dodgers Yasiel Puig celebrates with teammates after hitting a three run homer in the sixth inning. (Robert Gauthier / Los Angeles Times)
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Yasiel Puig celebrates after hitting a three run homer in the sixth inning. (Robert Gauthier / Los Angeles Times)
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Yasiel Puig is pumped after hitting a three run homer in the sixth inning (Robert Gauthier / Los Angeles Times)
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Dodgers Yasiel Puig celebrates after hitting a three run homerun in the 6th inning. (Robert Gauthier / Los Angeles Times)
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Dodgers Yasiel Puig celebrates with Max Muncy after hitting a three run home run in the 6th inning. (Wally Skalij/Los Angeles Times )
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Dodgers left fielder Chris Taylor celebrates after catching a drive by Brewers Christian Yelich in the 5th inning. (Wally Skalij/Los Angeles Times )
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Dodgers relief pitcher Juan Urias throws in the fifth inning. (Wally Skalij/Los Angeles Times )
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Dodgers manager Dave Roberts pats Walker Buehler after taking him out of the game in the fifth inning. (Wally Skalij/Los Angeles Times / )
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Dodgers Walker Buehler lays down a bunt as Brewers catcher Erik Kratz looks on in the 5th inning. (Wally Skalij/Los Angeles Times / )
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Yasiel Puig misses a fourth inning double by Brewers second baseman Travis Shaw. (Robert Gauthier / Los Angeles Times)
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Brewer fans cheer on the home team during game seven. (Wally Skalij/Los Angeles Times / )
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Walker Buehler readies himself for the next batter during a budding Brewers rally in the second inning. (Robert Gauthier / Los Angeles Times)
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Dodgers Yasiel Puig celebrates hitting a second-inning double. (Robert Gauthier / Los Angeles Times)
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Cody Bellinger celebrates with Yasiel Puig after hitting a second inning, two run homer. (Robert Gauthier / Los Angeles Times)
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Cody Bellinger flexes his muscle as he rounds the bases on a second inning, two run homer. (Robert Gauthier / Los Angeles Times)
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Dodgers Cody Bellinger celebrates with Manny Machado after hitting a two run homerun the second inning. (Wally Skalij/Los Angeles Times / )
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As Brewers first baseman, Jesus Aquilar, looks on, Dodgers Cody Bellinger rounds first base after hitting a two-run home run in the second inning. (Wally Skalij/Los Angeles Times )
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Dodgers Cody Bellinger tosses the bat after hitting a two run home run in the second inning. (Wally Skalij/Los Angeles Times )
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Dodgers Cody Bellinger watches his towering home run in the second inning. (Wally Skalij/Los Angeles Times )
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Dodgers Max Muncy is out at second base as Milwaukee Brewers second baseman Travis Shaw throw to first to complete the double play in the first inning. (Wally Skalij/Los Angeles Times )
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Fans take photos with Manny Machado before Game 7. (Robert Gauthier / Los Angeles Times)
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Milwaukee Brewers Christian Yelich celebrates in the dugout after hitting a solo homerun in the first inning. (Wally Skalij/Los Angeles Times )
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Yasiel Puig can’t reach a first inning homer by Christian Yelich. (Robert Gauthier / Los Angeles Times)
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Chorizo Sausage glances at a follower as the rest of the famous racing sausages head to the main level of Miller Park before Game 7. (Robert Gauthier / Los Angeles Times)
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With the Dodgers looking on, Milwaukee Brewers Christian Yelich celebrates after hitting a solo homerun in the first inning. (Wally Skalij/Los Angeles Times )
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Dodgers’ Clayton Kershaw works out before the start of Game 7 of the National League Championship Series against the Milwaukee Brewers at Miller Park on Saturday. (Wally Skalij / Los Angeles Times)
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Dodgers pitchers Pedro Baez and Julio Urías head to the clubhouse after pregame warmups. (Robert Gauthier / Los Angeles Times)
“You don’t really want to know what I want to say right now,” Machado said.
He later revealed that Chacin delivered the pitch before he was ready to hit.
“He quick-pitched me,” Machado said. “I’m going to drop one down. I know it was a little ballsy, but anything to win.”
If the hit was his statement, the gesture he made as he crossed first base was the punctuation. He grabbed his crotch.
“You know what?” Machado said. “Honestly, I have no idea. All I heard was, ‘Manny sucks!’”
The chant morphed into a stadium-wide screams of, “You-still-suck! You-still-suck!”
Immediately after Bellinger homered, Puig doubled and celebrated by raising his arm and making a chopping gesture toward his groin. Machado looked out to Puig from the bench and made a similar motion.
“That’s Puigy’s thing,” Machado said with a smile. “You have to go ask him about that.”
Machado’s temperament became a source of controversy over this series.
He will be a free agent this winter and is expected to sign a nine-figure contract, he hasn’t made a concerted effort to sell himself the way Manny Ramirez did a decade earlier.
He is purposely bland. His play on the field has been uneven, spectacular on some days but completely uninspired on others.
Athletes like this are ignored in Los Angeles and he was — that was until he entered the postseason spotlight.
He didn’t run out a ground ball in a Game 2 victory. Shortly after that, he said in an interview with FS1 that he is “not the type of player that’s going to be ‘Johnny Hustle.’”
Then came an incident in Game 4, which restarted the league-wide whispers about him being a dirty player.
As he ran out a ground ball, he dragged his foot as he ran through the bag, clipping the ankle of Brewers first baseman Jesus Aguilar.
Hence, the boos at Miller Park.
He struck out twice and was hitless in four at-bats in a Game 6 loss.
He made up for it Saturday.
“He’s got so much ability,” said Andrew Friedman, the Dodgers president of baseball operations. “His talent is top-shelf.”
Friedman admitted Machado is a much better defensive shortstop than he thought before acquiring him.
And it could very well be that Machado is the kind of player who requires conflict to make the most of his gifts.
He was two for four in Game 4. He was eight for 27 with five runs in the series.
And he was one of the primary reasons the Dodgers are returning to the World Series.
He is a hero of this postseason. Another series victory and he can become a franchise legend.
Perhaps another controversy will materialize this week to help him get there.
Then he could relive the joy and relief he experience he felt Saturday night as coaches and teammates poured alcoholic beverages on his head.
Holding out a half-empty bottle of sparkling wine, Machado said, “I play for this.”
Then, he asked, “Where’s the trophy at?”
He called out again, this time to the entire room.
“Where’s the trophy at?” he shouted.
Machado smiled.
“That’s what I play for, baby,” he said. “That’s all I play for.”
And maybe also to ensure he has the last word.
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Follow Dylan Hernandez on Twitter @dylanohernandez
