The division series between the Los Angeles Dodgers and Atlanta Braves pitted two very good, division-winning teams against each other. And through three games, it’s been the tight, hard-fought contest you’d expect given the impressive collection of talent on both teams.
While the Dodgers jumped out to a 5-1 lead thanks to home runs from Teoscar Hernandez, Kyle Tucker, and Max Muncy, the Braves battled back in the 9th inning with a two-run homer of their own from Ozzie Albies. It was a sign of things to come in the ensuing games.
Game two seemed to set up perfectly for Los Angeles to take command of the series. Instead of using Chris Sale, the Braves decided to give their superstar starter another few days of rest, as they did for much of the regular season. Instead of Chris Sale, the Braves went for a bullpen game, opened by Ray Kerr.
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Two-time Cy Young Award winner Blake Snell, going up against the Braves bullpen and Ray Kerr. But as is so often the case in Major League Baseball, particularly postseason baseball, it didn’t work out that way. Kerr was excellent, and reliever Didier Fuentes was even better, going 3.2 innings with just one run allowed. Snell didn’t have it, walking five hitters, though limited the damage to just one run himself.
Atlanta pushed across two runs, one coming on a series of uncharacteristic Dodger misplays. Left fielder Teoscar Hernandez misplayed a fly ball to left field, turning an out into a triple for Michael Harris II. Harris then immediately scored on a wild pitch from reliever Kris Bubic, before doubling in the third run of the game in the 7th inning. Max Muncy homered with the Dodgers down to their last strike to make it 3-2, but Josue De Paula popped up to end it and even the series at a game apiece.
That set up a pivotal game three in Atlanta, with Sale now available on regular rest, going against World Series MVP Yoshinobu Yamamoto. Exactly what postseason baseball should be.
Sale, who’d obliterated the Dodgers in August, allowing just five hits and striking out 11 in a complete game shutout, looked to be the overwhelming favorite to take down the Dodgers’ struggling lefties. Including Shohei Ohtani, who’s been far from himself after a number of mid-season injuries.
But Yamamoto is pretty exceptional himself, a fact both starters acknowledged in a fantastic pregame tribute from one star to another.
Surprisingly though, Sale didn’t have his best stuff. Two first inning baserunners and long counts ran his pitch count up, and only the Dodgers’ prolific incompetence with runners in scoring position prevented the score from spiraling out of control.
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With Yamamoto cruising, the Dodgers once again had an opportunity to take control of the game in the third inning. With Mookie Betts on first, Freddie Freeman hit a deep fly ball to left field that looked like it was headed over the wall…until Mauricio Dubon made a spectacular play to bring it back.
In the fourth though, the Dodgers finally broke through.
The struggling Andy Pages singled off Sale to lead off the inning, before Kyle Tucker struck out. That brought postseason hero Kike Hernandez to the plate, starting his first game of the postseason. And Hernandez struck again in October, crushing a low change up into the left field seats for a 2-0 lead.
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A few hitters later, Freeman came up and hit another bomb, this time well out of Dubon’s reach.
Yamamoto kept dealing until the bottom of the 5th, when the Braves mounted a rally behind singles from Dubon and Lane Thomas. Rowdy Tellez walked in a bout of unusual wildness from the Dodgers starter, loading the bases for the top of the Atlanta lineup.
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Drake Baldwin grounded out to first to bring in a run, but Yamamoto bore down and got Ronald Acuna Jr. to ground out to second and end the inning. Neither team mounted much of an attack, with Yamamoto finishing out another spectacular seven-inning start with just one run allowed and 10 strikeouts.
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That set up yet another drama-filled bottom of the 9th inning, with Dodgers manager Dave Roberts making a gutsy, and controversial, choice to close it out. After using Tanner Scott in the 8th against 9-1-2, and eventually 3, Roberts turned to … Edwin Diaz for the final three outs. Diaz finished the regular season with an 8.68 ERA in 21 games, blew four saves in 11 opportunities, and wasn’t guaranteed a spot on the postseason roster.
Immediately, it looked like the move would backfire. Diaz gave up a ringing lead-off double to Ozzie Albies, putting the tying run at the plate for Michael Harris, Dubon, and pinch hitter Mike Yastrzemski. But Diaz got out of it, getting Harris to ground out, Dubon flew out in foul territory without allowing the run to score, and Yastrzemski hit a soft grounder to short to end it.
Another close, exciting playoff game, in a postseason filled with them.
For the Dodgers, beating Sale gives them a tremendous advantage to close out the series. Tyler Mahle starts game four on Wednesday night, and while he’s been outstanding since the trade deadline, his career track record is less impressive. LA now knows the worst case scenario is Tyler Glasnow for game four, and Tarik Skubal for game five.
The Braves, though, can point to their offense as a place for improvement. Baldwin, Acuna, and Olson haven’t done much in the series, with Harris providing most of the offense. And if they can extend the series to a decisive game five, Sale will be available again out of the bullpen. But their season is now on the brink, and the Dodgers will likely go all out to avoid a return trip to LA and set up their rotation for the NLCS. As always, must-see TV.
