MLB Rankings: Baseball’s Greatest Hits of Week-16

MLB Rankings: Greatest Hits in Week-16

2. Bryce Harper, 65 percent

…Until the Dodgers brought in their own closer, Kenley Jansen, to seal the deal. By the book, Jansen is an even surer bet than Neris, especially when given a two-run lead. In 39 games he has 24 saves and 54 strikeouts, getting nearly half his outs that way.

Jansen retired Philadelphia’s first hitter, outfielder Adam Haseley, on an easy ground ball. He never got another out.

The second hitter, catcher Andrew Knapp, looked at a first-pitch ball and then lined a double down the right-field line into the corner. Phillies leadoff hitter Cesar Hernandez was next, and Jansen got him in a  quick 0-2 hole. But Hernandez played it smart, shortening up and slapping a ground single through the hole between first and second.

Even at that point, the chances of a Phillies victory had only increased from 5 percent at inning’s start to 22 percent. But Scott Kingery improved them further, blooping a 1-1 pitch for a single to center that scored Knapp.

The next hitter was the centerpiece of the Phillies offense, Bryce Harper. Jansen tried a first-pitch fastball, and Harper powered it to the wall in center for a double, chasing Hernandez and Kingery home with the game-ending runs.