Cardinals vs. Dodgers results: Chris Taylor walks off Cardinals with homer as Dodgers advance to NLDS

Edward Sutelan

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Cardinals vs. Dodgers results: Chris Taylor walks off Cardinals with homer as Dodgers advance to NLDS image

Two outs. Bottom of the ninth. Postseason elimination game. Walk-off home run.

That was the storybook moment Chris Taylor lived Wednesday night. Cardinals reliever Alex Reyes spun a slider that hung right over the heart of the plate and Taylor crushed it 420 feet to left, and the pitchers' duel was over. The Dodgers, reigning National League champions, punched their ticket to the NLDS to face the rival Giants with the 3-1 win.

MORE: Yankees vs. Red Sox results: Early homers, strong start from Nathan Eovaldi propels Boston to AL wild-card win

The matchup was touted as a matchup between Adam Wainwright and Max Scherzer, but the NL wild-card game quickly became a battle of the bullpens. Scherzer allowed one run over 4.1 innings with three hits, three walks and four strikeouts, while Wainwright went 5.1 with a run allowed on four hits, two walks and five strikeouts.

The Dodgers turned to its considerable bullpen depth to hold off the red-hot Cardinals, and it proved effective. Joe Kelly stranded a pair of runners on first and second in relief of Scherzer in the fifth to keep the game tied at one, and Brusdar Graterol, Blake Treinen, Corey Knebel and Kenley Jansen allowed only two hits and one walk with five strikeouts over the final four innings of work.

MORE: SN's postseason power rankings

For St. Louis, Luis Garcia and Giovanny Gallegos gave St. Louis 2.2 innings of scoreless relief, with only two hits and a walk and two strikeouts. T.J. McFarland got the first two batters he faced out in the ninth before walking Cody Bellinger, forcing his exit in the place of Reyes, who allowed a steal by Bellinger and the homer by Taylor.

The Cardinals started off the game by scoring in the first when second baseman Tommy Edman reached first, stole second, advanced to third on a flyout and scored on a wild pitch. However, despite having plenty of scoring opportunities, St. Louis failed to cash in the rest of the game. The team finished a combined 0-for-11 with runners in scoring position and left 11 runners on base.

It took a bit longer for the Dodgers to knot the game back up at one, but in the fourth, Justin Turner delivered again, hitting a solo shot off Wainwright to tie up the game.

Sporting News tracked live scoring updates and highlights from Cardinals vs. Dodgers in the 2021 MLB postseason. Read below for complete results from the National League wild-card game.

MORE: Albert Pujols vs. Cardinals in NL wild-card game is beautiful October playoff drama

Cardinals vs. Dodgers score

Inning 1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9 F
Cardinals 1 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 1
Dodgers 0 0 0 1 0 0 0 0 2 3

MORE: MLB postseason predictions: Sporting News experts make picks for pennant, World Series

Cardinals vs. Dodgers live updates, highlights from 2021 NL wild-card game

12:25 a.m.: Taylor sends the ball deep to left and the Dodgers walk off the Cardinals 3-1.

12:24 a.m.: Bellinger steals second for the second time tonight. Taylor now has a chance to bat with a runner in scoring position.

12:19 a.m.: Bellinger takes ball four, and that will do it for McFarland. Alex Reyes coming in for the Cardinals with Taylor coming up to bat.

12:16 a.m.: Another liner to center field, but straight to Bader. Two outs.

12:13 a.m.: Steven Souza Jr. comes in to pinch hit for the Dodgers now.

12:12 a.m.: Everyone in the ballpark wanted it to leave the yard, but Pujols flies out to center for the first out of the inning.

12:09 a.m.: The Cardinals are bringing in lefty T.J. McFarland, which means Albert Pujols will likely come to bat. While Pujols has struggled against righties this year, he's feasted against southpaws to the tune of a .294/.336/.603 slash line. Of his 17 home runs this year, 13 have come against lefties.

12:05 a.m. End Top Ninth: O'Neill swings and misses at a high fastball, and the Dodgers will bat in the bottom of the ninth with a chance to win it.

12:00 a.m.: Goldschmidt is caught looking at strike three. O'Neill coming up to bat with Edman on second and two gone.

11:59 p.m.: Edman steals second base, and Goldschmidt now has a runner in scoring position with an 0-2 count.

11:57 p.m.: Edman picks up his third hit of the night and is on with only one away in the top of the ninth.

11:56 p.m.: DeJong chases the high fastball for the first out of the inning.

11:54 p.m.: Kenley Jansen is on the mound for the Dodgers.

11:50 p.m. End of Eighth: Paul DeJong, fresh in at shortstop, makes a leaping grab to rob Smith of a hit. This game is headed to the ninth in a tie game.

11:49 p.m.: Justin Turner swings and misses at a pitch in the dirt, and Trea Turner stays put at first. Two out for Smith.

11:44 p.m.: After a Seager strikeout, Trea Turner singles through the left side of the infield. The fastest player in this game is on base.

11:40 p.m.: Giovanny Gallegos comes in to face Seager, Trea Turner and Justin Turner.

11:37 p.m. End Top Eighth: Knebel gets Bader to chase the breaking ball out of the zone, and the Cardinals go down scoreless in the top of the eighth.

11:31 p.m.: Corey Knebel comes in to pitch for the Dodgers.

11:28 p.m.: Taylor makes a diving grab to rob Sosa. Bader due up as Treinen exits the game.

11:27 p.m.: Umpires say that Carlson is safe.

11:25 p.m.: Umpires are going to a review to look at whether Carlson touched second base on his way back to first. He advanced past second on the flyout by Molina, and needed to retouch it in order to return to first base.

11:24 p.m.: Molina flies out to left, and there's one away.

11:21 p.m.: Carlson starts the top of the eighth with a single against the shift.

11:16 p.m. End of Seventh: Betts flies out to center field. This game heads to the eighth still tied at one.

11:14 p.m.: Bellinger steals second, and the Dodgers now have a runner in scoring position for Betts.

11:12 p.m.: Taylor pops up to first. Two outs.

11:12 p.m.: Bellinger lines a base hit into right. Chris Taylor, who came in on the double switch to call in Treinen, will bat with a runner on first.

11:10 p.m.: Beaty bounces out to second to start the bottom half of the inning.

11:09 p.m.: Garcia is back out for St. Louis.

11:06 p.m. End Top Seventh: Arenado pops out to first, and Treinen strands the runner at second.

11:05 p.m.: O'Neill swipes second without a throw as Smith had to block a wild pitch.

11:01 p.m.: O'Neill takes ball four to give the Cardinals a baserunner with two outs for Arenado.

10:59 p.m.: Goldschmidt grounds out to Seager. Two away.

10:56 p.m.: Treinen gets Edman swinging for the first out.

10:55 p.m.: Blake Treinen is brought in for the Dodgers to face the top of the order. He's been about as nasty as any reliever in baseball this season .

10:53 p.m.: Garcia and Graterol have each recorded the fastest pitches in the game so far. Graterol has four sinkers 100 mph or above, while Garcia has the next five fastest pitches, each above 98 mph, per Baseball Savant .

10:52 p.m. End of Sixth: Garcia throws out Pollock, with Goldschmidt making a stellar play at first to catch it and dodge a charging Pollock. Had he not, Turner would have scored from second and the Dodgers would have taken the lead. 1-1 game heading into the seventh.

10:50 p.m.: Trea Turner is the go-ahead run on second. How fast is he? His speed checks in at 30.6 feet per second, second-fastest in the majors, according to Baseball Savant .

10:48 p.m.: Will Smith takes the walk. Runners on first and second now with two outs for Pollock.

10:45 p.m.: Justin Turner takes a big cut at an inside pitch, but he gets jammed enough for that to stay in the yard for O'Neill to catch it. Two away.

10:40 p.m.: After a meeting at the mound, Mike Schildt decides to remove Wainwright. Luis Garcia will instead be the pitcher to face Justin Turner.

10:38 p.m.: Trea Turner bounces one to the left side of the infield, but with his speed, Arenado has no chance of throwing him out, and he doesn't even attempt a throw. Justin Turner coming up to bat now. Wainwright will face him.

10:35 p.m.: Sosa fields the grounder from Seager and throws him out at first.

10:29 p.m. End Top Sixth: Wainwright grounds out to end the inning. He'll come back out for the bottom half of the frame.

10:28 p.m.: Bader hit by a pitch for the second time tonight. Wainwright is coming up to bat now for the Cardinals.

10:27 p.m.: Sosa grounds out to second on the second pitch he sees and there are two away.

10:26 p.m.: Brusdar Graterol is the new pitcher for the Dodgers, and he immediately gets Molina to ground out to start the frame.

10:23 p.m. End of Fifth: Betts grounds out to third for the final out. Wainwright keeps rolling right along.

10:22 p.m.: Luke Raley goes down swinging at a fastball on the outside corner of the zone. He's fanned four of the past five batters he's faced.

10:20 p.m.: Wainwright gets Bellinger swinging for the first out of the inning.

10:16 p.m. End Top Fifth: Kelly gets Carlson swinging for the third out of the inning, and the Dodgers get out of a tough spot.

10:13 p.m.: Goldschmidt advances to third on a wild pitch. Runners now on the corners for Carlson.

10:10 p.m.: Arenado bounces a grounder to Justin Turner, who steps on the bag at third for the force out. Two away.

10:04 p.m.: That will do it for Scherzer's night as Roberts will hand the ball over to former Cardinal Joe Kelly.

10:04 p.m.: Huge strikeout for Scherzer as he gets O'Neill swinging and missing for the first out.

10:00 p.m.: Goldschmidt takes ball four for his second walk of the game. Runners on first and second with no one out with O'Neill coming up to the plate.

9:56 p.m.: The exit velocity on Edman's two pitches? 75.7 mph in the first, 65.7 mph in the fifth. Meanwhile, two of the four batted balls over 100 mph tonight have been recorded for outs.

9:56 p.m.: Edman picks up his second broken bat hit of the night, this one to lead off the fifth inning.

9:51 p.m. End of Fourth: Beaty pops out to Molina, but this game heads to the fifth knotted up at one.

9:49 p.m.: Joe West says Pollock went around on strike three. Two away for Beaty.

9:46 p.m.: Smith is caught looking at strike three for the first out.

9:45 p.m.: Baseball Savant listed that ball as 105.6 mph off the bat and 401 feet to left.

9:44 p.m. Dodgers scoring play: Justin Turner launches a 2-2 pitch from Wainwright deep to left field for a solo shot to tie the game. Dodgers tie the game 1-1.

9:38 p.m. End Top Fourth: Wainwright goes down swinging to end the inning.

9:36 p.m.: Hader is hit with a pitch on a full count, and Wainwright will come to bat in the fourth.

9:33 p.m.: Sosa dribbles one back out to the mound that Scherzer is able to field for the second out.

9:31 p.m.: Molina hits a grounds out to start the fourth.

9:26 p.m. End of Third: Turner hits a broken bat groundball that Edman fields, takes himself to second and throws on to first for a double play to get St. Louis out of the inning without allowing a run.

9:23 p.m.: The Dodgers are in business. Seager takes ball four and the bases are loaded for the National League batting champion, Trea Turner.

9:18 p.m.: Betts sends a line drive up the middle, Sosa makes a leap to try and catch it, but it bounces out of his glove. Bellinger stays at second and Betts is safe at first.

9:16 p.m.: Scherzer gets the bunt down and Bellinger moves up to second. One away with Betts due up.

9:13 p.m.: Cody Bellinger takes a leadoff walk to give Scherzer a clear bunting situation with nobody out in the third.

9:09 p.m. End Top Third: Beaty with a nice snag on a grounder down the first base line from Carlson, and he steps on first to end the frame.

9:06 p.m.: Arenado grounds one to Beaty at first, who fires it over to second for the forceout. Arenado is left on first with two away.

9:04 p.m.: O'Neill comes up empty chasing at a slider down and away in the zone for the first out.

9:03 p.m.: Goldschmidt sends a base hit to right to give the Cardinals a leadoff base runner in the third.

8:58 p.m. End of Second: Matt Beaty lifts one high and far to right, but it stays in the yard for Carlson, who catches it for the third out.

8:56 p.m.: Pollock pops up to short and there are two outs in the inning.

8:54 p.m.: Edman with an incredible sliding grab and strong throw over to first to rob Will Smith of a base hit.

8:48 p.m. End Top Second: Scherzer gets Edman to fly out to left field for the final out of the inning. He's already up to 43 pitches through two innings. His 2021 season-high in pitches in a game is 109.

8:45 p.m.: Wainwright gets the sacrifice bunt down and Bader moves up to second. Edman will bat with a runner in scoring position and two away.

8:41 p.m.: Second walk of the afternoon as Harrison Bader takes a few close pitches inside to reach first.

8:39 p.m.: Scherzer throws a fastball right by Sosa for the swinging strike three.

8:34 p.m.: The pitch by Wainwright: 86.1 mph. The comebacker: 100.5 mph.

8:33 p.m. End of First: Justin Turner hits a liner right back to the mound, but Wainwright makes the catch to end the inning.

8:30 p.m.: Sosa drops the liner off the bat of Turner, but flips over to second to get Betts for the forceout. Two outs.

8:29 p.m.: Seager is caught looking at a 92 mph sinker that hits the inside edge. Trea Turner now up to the plate.

8:27 p.m.: That hit from Betts was 99.1 mph off the bat and had an expected batting average of .510, per Baseball Savant .

8:26 p.m.: Betts hits a rocket on the ground to shortstop that Edmundo Sosa gets a glove on with a slide, but he can't make the play. Dodgers get the leadoff hitter aboard.

8:22 p.m. End Top First: Yadier Molina flies out to center to end the inning, but St. Louis will hand the ball to Adam Wainwright with the lead.

8:21 p.m.: Dylan Carlson rolls one up the middle that Corey Seager can't get a grip on right away. His throw is too late as Carlson reaches first on the E6.

8:20 p.m.: Arenado flies out to left for the second out.

8:19 p.m. Cardinals scoring play: St. Louis is on the board. Scherzer bounces one in the dirt, and the speedy Edman darts home to score. Goldschmidt moves up to second. Cardinals take a 1-0 lead.

8:17 p.m.: Betts makes a great play at the right field wall in foul territory to set down Tyler O'Neill, but Edman tags up from second and advances to third. Runners on the corners for Nolan Arenado.

8:16 p.m.: Goldschmidt takes the walk and Max Scherzer now has to deal with runners on first and second with no one out.

8:15 p.m.: Edman swipes second to give Paul Goldschmidt a runner in scoring position as he faces a 2-2 count.

8:12 p.m.: Edman drops in a single in front of Mookie Betts in right to lead off the inning.

8:10 p.m.: The NL Wild Card game between the Dodgers and Cardinals is underway, as Tommy Edman takes a ball to start the game.

7:55 p.m.: We're about 15 minutes away from the start of this one. Here are the starting lineups for each team.

Cardinals vs. Dodgers start time

  • First pitch: 8:10 p.m. ET | 5:10 p.m. PT

First pitch for Cardinals vs. Dodgers is scheduled for 8:10 p.m. ET on Wednesday, Oct. 6.

How to watch MLB playoff games

  • TV channel: TBS
  • Live stream: TBS App

TBS will begin its coverage of the National League playoffs with the NL wild card game. Brian Anderson, Ron Darling, Jeff Francoeur and Lauren Shehadi will be on the call for the game. Those looking to stream it can find the game on the TBS app.

In Canada, all postseason games are available on Sportsnet and SN1.

MLB playoff schedule 2021

National League

Wild card

Date Game Start time TV channel
Wednesday, Oct. 6 Cardinals @ Dodgers 8:10 p.m. TBS

Division Series

TBS will handle the broadcast for all NLDS games in both series.

Date Game Start time TV channel
Friday, Oct. 8 TBD @ Giants, Game 1 TBD TBS
Friday, Oct. 8 Braves @ Brewers, Game 1 TBD TBS
Saturday, Oct. 9 TBD @ Giants, Game 2 TBD TBS
Saturday, Oct. 9 Braves @ Brewers, Game 2 TBD TBS
Monday, Oct. 11 Giants @ TBD, Game 3 TBD TBS
Monday, Oct. 11 Brewers @ Braves, Game 3 TBD TBS
Tuesday, Oct. 12 Giants @ TBD, Game 4* TBD TBS
Tuesday, Oct. 12 Brewers @ Braves, Game 4* TBD TBS
Thursday, Oct. 14 TBD @ Giants, Game 5* TBD TBS
Thursday, Oct. 14 Braves @ Brewers, Game 5* TBD TBS

*If necessary

Championship Series

TBS will continue its National League playoff coverage with coverage of every NLCS game.

Date Game Start time TV channel
Saturday, Oct. 16 TBD @ TBD, Game 1 TBD TBS
Sunday, Oct. 17 TBD @ TBD, Game 2 TBD TBS
Tuesday, Oct. 19 TBD @ TBD, Game 3 TBD TBS
Wednesday, Oct. 20 TBD @ TBD, Game 4 TBD TBS
Thursday, Oct. 21 TBD @ TBD, Game 5* TBD TBS
Saturday, Oct. 23 TBD @ TBD, Game 6* TBD TBS
Sunday, Oct. 24 TBD @ TBD, Game 7* TBD TBS

*If necessary

American League

Wild card

Date Game
Tuesday, Oct. 5 Red Sox 6, Yankees 2

Division Series

MLB Network and FS1 will carry all the ALDS games, until potential Game 5s, which would be broadcast exclusively on FS1.

Date Game Start time TV channel
Thursday, Oct. 7 Red Sox @ Rays, Game 1 TBD MLB Network/FS1
Thursday, Oct. 7 White Sox @ Astros, Game 1 TBD MLB Network/FS1
Friday, Oct. 8 Red Sox @ Rays, Game 2 TBD MLB Network/FS1
Friday, Oct. 8 White Sox @ Astros, Game 2 TBD MLB Network/FS1
Sunday, Oct. 10 Rays @ Red Sox, Game 3 TBD MLB Network/FS1
Sunday, Oct. 10 Astros @ White Sox, Game 3 TBD MLB Network/FS1
Monday, Oct. 11 Rays @ Red Sox, Game 4* TBD MLB Network/FS1
Monday, Oct. 11 Astros @ White Sox, Game 4* TBD MLB Network/FS1
Wednesday, Oct. 13 Red Sox @ Rays, Game 5* TBD FS1
Wednesday, Oct. 13 White Sox @ Astros, Game 5* TBD FS1

*If necessary

Championship Series

FOX and FS1 will split coverage of the ALCS.

Date Game Start time TV channel
Friday, Oct. 15 TBD @ TBD, Game 1 TBD FOX
Saturday, Oct. 16 TBD @ TBD, Game 2 TBD FOX
Monday, Oct. 18 TBD @ TBD, Game 3 TBD FOX/FS1
Tuesday, Oct. 19 TBD @ TBD, Game 4 TBD FS1
Wednesday, Oct. 20 TBD @ TBD, Game 5* TBD FS1
Friday, Oct. 22 TBD @ TBD, Game 6* TBD FS1
Saturday, Oct. 23 TBD @ TBD, Game 7* TBD FOX/FS1

*If necessary

World Series schedule

Every World Series game will be on FOX.

Date Game Start time TV channel
Tuesday, Oct. 26 TBD @ TBD, Game 1 TBD FOX
Wednesday, Oct. 27 TBD @ TBD, Game 2 TBD FOX
Friday, Oct. 29 TBD @ TBD, Game 3 TBD FOX
Saturday, Oct. 30 TBD @ TBD, Game 4 TBD FOX
Sunday, Oct. 31 TBD @ TBD, Game 5* TBD FOX
Tuesday, Nov. 2 TBD @ TBD, Game 6* TBD FOX
Wednesday, Nov. 3 TBD @ TBD, Game 7* TBD FOX

*If necessary

Edward Sutelan

Edward Sutelan Photo

Edward Sutelan joined The Sporting News in 2021 after covering high school sports for PennLive. Edward graduated from The Ohio State University in 2019, where he gained experience covering the baseball, football and basketball teams. Edward also spent time working for The Columbus Dispatch and Cape Cod Times.