LOS ANGELES -- Has Yasiel Puig ever had more fun playing baseball than he is right now? As a matter of fact, yes, he has.
"When I was 5 years old," Puig quipped, breaking into the same wry grin that has become a staple at Dodgers games over the past month.
These days, Puig is playing with all the joy of a 5-year-old picking up a bat for the first time. In the batter's box, however, he's conquering the postseason with the steely focus of a veteran.
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Puig again was the driving force behind a Dodgers' win on Saturday night, a come-from-behind 5-2 victory over the Cubs in Game 1 of the National League Championship Series presented by Camping World. He sparked the game-tying rally in the fifth inning with an RBI double. Two frames later he launched his first career playoff homer, giving the Dodgers a two-run lead.
"It's great when he can play with such emotion and focus as well," said Dodgers skipper Dave Roberts. "He loves the big stage."
Through four postseason games this year -- all Dodgers victories -- Puig is 7-for-15 with four extra-base hits. He's been the team's best offensive weapon, and, perhaps expectedly, its source of energy.
During pregame introductions, it was Puig who drew the loudest ovation from the Dodger Stadium crowd. He trotted onto the field wagging his tongue in response. Come game time, the emotion hadn't worn off.
Cubs starter Jose Quintana had held the Dodgers to one hit when Puig stepped into the box with two men on base in the fifth inning. He split the left-center-field gap with a rocket that ricocheted off the base of the wall.
Instantly, Puig flipped his bat and raised both hands into the air, before turning on the jets for an RBI double. When he arrived at second base, Puig pounded his chest, then turned toward the dugout and asked the crowd to get louder. It responded in kind.
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"Yasi is our high-energy guy," said center fielder Chris Taylor. "He likes to pump everybody up. He wears his emotions on his sleeves, for sure."
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It was Taylor's home run that put the Dodgers ahead in the sixth inning, before Puig's seventh-inning theatrics. Puig got a 1-1 fastball from reliever Mike Montgomery and lofted a towering drive to left field.
"When I hit it, I thought it was going, but later I saw the left fielder say, 'I got it,' and I started running," Puig said. "I think the wind helped me a little bit tonight."
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This time, Puig didn't flip his bat, instead putting his head down and sprinting toward first base. He didn't look up. Of the 54,289 packed into Dodger Stadium, Puig owned the only set of eyes not fixated on the baseball.
The noise in the stadium ebbed briefly as Kyle Schwarber raised his hands in the air to call for it. Then, it began to crescendo as Schwarber drifted backward -- to the track and to the wall.
The Cubs left fielder tried to leap, but instead crashed into the padding. The ball soared a foot beyond the fence, sending Dodger Stadium into a frenzy, as Puig rounded second base with his right arm raised. The Dodgers didn't look back from there.
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"He's playing at a high level," Roberts said. "Not only the fans, but his teammates are feeding off of it."