Max Muncy Reveals Surprising MVP of the Dodgers Postseason Run
Jack Flaherty struggled in Game 5 of the NLCS, but that opened the door for an unsung hero to shine. Brent Honeywell stepped in during the fourth inning, pitching 4.2 innings and saving the Dodgers’ high-leverage arms for Game 6.
“I don’t do it for me, I do it for these guys in here,” Honeywell said. “I love these guys. I love Doc. I love everybody over here. I told [Roberts] in the dugout, ‘This is my game until it’s not.’ And I tried to keep us in the game.
“We had a shot to win. I felt like we made the turn a little bit, battled our [tails] off here. We knew they were going to fight tonight, it’s playoff baseball. The series is 3-2. Gotta save the dogs.”
Even though Honeywell left Game 5 feeling like it didn’t go his way, what he did for the Dodgers paid off a couple of nights later. When he returned to the dugout in New York, Max Muncy told him, “You just won us Game 6.”
Honeywell gave up four runs on six hits, but manager Dave Roberts was still full of praise when he pulled him from the game in the eighth inning. He emphasized how crucial Honeywell’s performance was afterward.
“It’s not always fun when you’re going through it, certainly from my chair,” Roberts said of the challenge of knowing if and when to deploy his higher-leverage relievers after falling behind by seven runs after three innings. “You have to remain steadfast in how you use your pitchers because ultimately it’s about winning four games in a seven-game series.
“With our leverage guys, mainly Blake and Evan, it just wasn’t responsible [to turn to them] at that point of the game. So Honeywell did a fantastic job, saving everyone and knowing we have a bullpen game coming.”
In the big picture, what Honeywell did in Game 5 was about more than that night. His effort set the Dodgers up for a pennant-clinching win in Game 6.
“That’s what a seven-game series is all about, what playoff baseball is,” Honeywell said. “There’s a job for everybody, every single one of us in here. Tonight wasn’t our night, but anything I can do to help us is what I want to do.”
In addition to his work in Game 5, Honeywell also threw live batting practice to Mookie Betts.
“I fed him down the middle and said crank that s— out of the ballpark,” Honeywell said.
Betts then turned around his postseason slump.
Photo Credit: Wendell Cruz-Imagn Images
Have you subscribed to our YouTube channel? Subscribe and hit that notification bell to stay up to date on all the latest Dodgers news, rumors, interviews, livestreams, and more!
