Dodgers' Chris Taylor comes out swinging and it pays off in a big way

Dodgers’ Chris Taylor comes out swinging and it pays off in a big way

Staff Writer

Oct. 25, 2017 8 AM PT

When Chris Taylor steps into the batter’s box for the Dodgers at the start of Wednesday’s Game 2 of the World Series, expect Houston starter Justin Verlander to be very, very careful with his first pitch.

The usually patient Taylor jumped on Dallas Keuchel’s first offering of Tuesday’s opener and drove it deep into the left-field pavilion, starting the Dodgers on their way to a 3-1 victory and a 1-0 World Series lead.

“C.T. is the hero,” said Justin Turner, who followed Taylor’s two-out walk in the sixth inning with a homer to account for the rest of the Dodgers scoring. “That’s what he’s been doing all year long. He’s the spark plug at the top of the lineup and when he goes, we go.”

Before Tuesday, Taylor had seen 13 pitches from Keuchel in his career and hadn’t put any of them in play, striking out three times. It was a level of failure Taylor figured called for a new approach.

“I just wanted to go there and be aggressive,” said Taylor, whose homer came in his first World Series at-bat. “Try to jump on that first-pitch strike.”

Taylor’s season and a half with the Dodgers has been all about a new approach. His versatility — Taylor can play five positions — led the Dodgers to acquire him from Seattle last summer for defensive depth. But they never expected they’d be getting a big hitter as well.

With the Mariners, Taylor hit one home run in 2 1/2 seasons. This year, after coming under the influence of Turner, who turned his career around by learning to put the ball in the air, Taylor hit a career-high 21 homers during the regular season.

He also stole a team-high 17 bases and scored 85 runs. Talk about versatility.

“He can earn a walk, he can slug you, he can steal a base,” manager Dave Roberts said. “When a pitcher makes a mistake, he makes you pay.”

Clayton Kershaw, who threw seven stellar innings Tuesday to get the win, went even further, calling Taylor “one of the elite players in the game.”

That wasn’t a label many would have put on Taylor when he came over from the Mariners.

“Everybody knew he was great utility player, like he was going to help us out in that role,” Kershaw said. “But as far as being an everyday … leadoff hitter with that type of pop, that type of at-bat quality. I never would have guessed it.”

Nor would Taylor, who is only the fourth player to hit a leadoff home run in a Game 1 of a World Series

“I never could have predicted this,” he said. “The goal coming into this year was to hit for more power and get the ball in the air. But I didn’t think it would be this dramatic of an improvement.”

Instead, he has improved to the point where his 10 runs tie him with Houston’s Jose Altuve for most in the postseason and his three home runs in nine games ties him for third-most in the playoffs.

But there’s another, more important number the Dodgers will be focusing on: the winner of Game 1 in a World Series has gone on to win the title more than 62% of the time.

“When he goes, we go,” Turner said. “When he gets on base, we’re a lot better offense. It just goes to show you how complete of a player he is and how lucky we are to have him.

“He’s been so much fun to hit behind, watching him become a star, really, on this team.”

The Los Angeles Dodgers in the 2017 World Series