Yasiel Puig caps Dodgers rally with WWE-style celebration

The Los Angeles Dodgers bats came alive early in Game 1 of their National League Division Series against the Arizona Diamondbacks. The Dodgers scored four first-inning runs against Taijuan Walker, which continued the trend of starting pitchers struggling in the early innings during the postseason.

But it wasn’t Walker’s outing that everyone was talking about. It wasn’t Justin Turner’s three-run homer either. It was Yasiel Puig’s enthusiastic celebration after capping the rally with a run-scoring double.

If you were watching, you might have thought you accidentally tuned into a Monday Night Raw rerun from 1998. Nope, it was just Puig breaking it down a la Shawn Michaels and Triple H back in the heyday of Degeneration X.

The only thing missing was pyrotechnic blasts from beyond the centerfield wall. Maybe those will be added for Game 2.

Regardless, Puig was clearly in his zone from the get-go on Friday. That was clearly evidenced when he decided to lick his pine tar-covered bat.

Hey, If it helps Puig focus, so be it.

Make no mistake, he was focused. Or perhaps he’d be better described as a man possessed after breaking out the tongue wag on his seventh-inning triple.

The Dodgers offense has been called into question after a sluggish finish to the season. That means they could really use a locked in Puig to further their cause in October. They certainly had one in Game 1. Along with Justin Turner and Corey Seager, he helped spark a 9-5 win behind on a night when Clayton Kershaw wasn’t exactly locked in.

It’s a great start. Now we’ll see if Puig and the Dodgers have further reason to celebrate, or if the Diamondbacks will strike back with a “Stone Cold” Stunner in Game 2.

Yasiel Puig capped a Dodgers four-run first inning with a double and a series of crotch chops. (AP)
Yasiel Puig capped a Dodgers four-run first inning with a double and a series of crotch chops. (AP)

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Mark Townsend is a writer for Big League Stew on Yahoo Sports. Have a tip? Email him at bigleaguestew@yahoo.com or follow him on Twitter!