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Dodgers: Chris Taylor’s heroic at-bat was best performance of season

ByAdam Weinrib|
LOS ANGELES, CALIFORNIA - MAY 31: Chris Taylor #3 of the Los Angeles Dodgers celebrates his three RBI double during the sixth inning against the St. Louis Cardinals at Dodger Stadium on May 31, 2021 in Los Angeles, California. (Photo by Katelyn Mulcahy/Getty Images)
LOS ANGELES, CALIFORNIA - MAY 31: Chris Taylor #3 of the Los Angeles Dodgers celebrates his three RBI double during the sixth inning against the St. Louis Cardinals at Dodger Stadium on May 31, 2021 in Los Angeles, California. (Photo by Katelyn Mulcahy/Getty Images)

Where would the Los Angeles Dodgers be without Chris Taylor?

Wait, don’t answer that. Because we might find out next year, and we’d rather not think about it until this season completes itself.

For now, let’s enjoy the ride, which has featured the versatile Taylor cementing himself as a National League All-Star level contributor who we hope the voting public does not ignore.

Is CT3 the flashiest? No; he’s still not even a top-10 attention-drawing Dodger. Maybe he should do Trevor Bauer’s sword celebration and try to pick a fight with his own teammate. That could put him on the map.

For now, Taylor is simply a professional hitter who’s earned the highest compliment a rival can give: he’s extremely annoying.

The Swiss Army knife was persistence personified on Monday night against the St. Louis Cardinals, unbreaking a sixth-inning tie by either staring at or fouling off 13 pitches, finally putting the 14th into the gap for a three-run double.

Dodgers OF Chris Taylor put up the at-bat of the year vs the St. Louis Cardinals.

Essentially, this was vintage Matt Carpenter, but on our side this time. You hate to see the Dodgers be the more prepared team in this situation. You simply hate to see it.

Hitting is always a difficult task, and the difficulty has only been ratcheted up in recent years by the sheer number of hard-throwing relievers and impossible-to-pick-up trick pitchers who are seemingly employed multiple times over by every team.

The Cardinals’ Genesis Cabrera, whom Taylor posted this insane at-bat against, is an extremely tough task in his own right, considering he often doesn’t know where the ball is going. If Cabrera has thrown you 11 strikes out of 14 pitches, he has ostensibly succeeded. He is markedly unpredictable. He cannot do better than that.

Yet Taylor had him handled from the very start in a high-pressure situation. 97 MPH fastballs, a 90 MPH changeup, and several looping curves to vary the eye line … no trick in the book worked, and it all ended with one of the most cathartic cracks of the entire campaign.

Wait, Taylor missed a pitch during the AB? Brutal. Never mind. Sorry for the hyperbole, everyone. Guess he’s just a regular Giancarlo Stanton.

The Padres are extremely talented. The Giants aren’t going anywhere. But after a tough weekend against their Bay Area foes, Taylor reminded MLB that the Dodgers are built for big moments, too. Pesky and powerful.

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