Top Ten Dodger Homeruns of 2014: 4- A.J. Ellis Hits Pair of Homeruns in Breezy Chicago

The wind was blowing out to left. A September feel-good game for the Dodgers gave them a satisfying victory over the Cubs on September 19th at Wrigley Field in Chicago. A good old 14-5 drubbing over the Cubbies included homeruns from Matt Kemp, Yasiel Puig, and two glorious shots by catcher A.J. Ellis.

4. 9/19/14: A.J. Ellis belts a pair of two-run home runs to lead the Dodgers’ offense during their 14-5 blowout win over the Cubs.

He hit three homeruns all regular season, and two of those came on the same night in ivy covered Wrigley Field. His pal

Sep 24, 2014; Los Angeles, CA, USA; Los Angeles Dodgers starting pitcher Clayton Kershaw (22) and Los Angeles Dodgers catcher A.J. Ellis (17) walk off the field after the last out of the eighth inning against the San Francisco Giants at Dodger Stadium. The Los Angeles Dodgers defeated the San Francisco Giants 9-1 to clinch the NL West Division Championship. Mandatory Credit: Jayne Kamin-Oncea-USA TODAY Sports

Clayton Kershaw started and picked up his 20th win on his soon-to-be Cy Young season of 2014.

In the top of the first, against Edwin Jackson, Matt Kemp and A.J. Ellis homered in the same frame. A.J. Ellis’s two-run homerun was the inning’s point of crescendo as the Dodgers notched six runs before the seat’s were warm.

Kershaw was shaky in the first inning as well, and he gave up three uncharacteristic runs to the Cubs. Anthony Rizzo doubled, and Jorge Soler tripled off Kersh. This wasn’t Kershaw’s sharpest game, but his teammates finally helped him out at the plate.

A.J.’s second homerun came in the top of the third. Once again Juan Uribe was on base, and A.J. ended up driving in 4 runs on the night on the two two-run homeruns.

Yasiel Puig homered later in the top of the sixth off the Chicago bullpen. With their 88th win, the Dodgers secured a playoff berth after a Milwaukee loss.

The two-homer game by Ellis was a nice change of pace since he had been unproductive all year and finished with a line of .191/.323/.254 with 3 homeruns and 25 RBI. Although, Ellis did collect 53 of his signature walks over his 93 games played. Ellis, dealing with knee issues the past two seasons, has yet to repeat his break out 2012 season when he hit .270 with 13 homeruns, 52 RBIs and 65 walks.

A.J. broke out offensively in the postseason and  hit a team leading .538 in the NLDS. The Dodger catcher collected 7 hits against the Cardinals in the series including a big homerun on October 3rd during the Game 1 loss at Dodger Stadium which is a Honorable Mention on our countdown. A.J. Ellis hit a two-run blast to left field off Adam Wainwright, giving the Dodgers a 6-1 5th-inning lead. Unfortunately, we know how that tragic game played out.

Oct 7, 2014; St. Louis, MO, USA; Los Angeles Dodgers catcher A.J. Ellis hits a single against the St. Louis Cardinals in the third inning during game four of the 2014 NLDS baseball playoff game at Busch Stadium. Mandatory Credit: Scott Rovak-USA TODAY Sports

A.J. Ellis has really ramped things up during the postseason for the Dodgers, and he is hitting .386 with 17 hits including 2 homeruns in 14 postseason games.

Clayton Kershaw hopes the Dodgers bring back his buddy A.J. to catch him in 2015.

"” I don’t know what I’m going to do if he’s not back,” Kershaw said."

Whether the Dodgers retain Ellis will be one of the first decisions the newly appointed President, Andrew Friedman, will need to make.

Kershaw usually gets what he wants.

"“He’s made me look good for so many years, it was nice to help him,” Ellis said after he hit the homerun to help friend and teammate Clayton Kershaw notch his 20th win of 2014."