CHICAGO – Here came the manager. Out of the corner of his eye, from his spot behind home plate, Los Angeles Dodgers catcher Yasmani Grandal spied Dave Roberts come up the dugout steps and out onto the Wrigley Field grass. He was on his way toward the mound.
So Grandal followed his instincts. He headed to the mound himself, jogging briskly, one goal in mind: Get to Clayton Kershaw before Roberts did.
There were two out, one on, bottom of the seventh and the Dodgers were in Code Red. They led 1-0, but it was a fragile 1-0, and how much more was fair to ask of Kershaw, anyway?