The Los Angeles Dodgers won two games against the Atlanta Braves with their proverbial backs against the wall to force a decisive Game 7. The series was a rollercoaster from start to finish, and in the final drop of this ride, the finale did not disappoint.
Recap
The Braves delivered the initial punch off Dustin May in the first inning. May couldn’t find the strike zone, walking the first two batters, Ronald Acuna Jr. and Freddie Freeman, on eight pitches. After a mound visit, Marcell Ozuna came up and delivered a line drive base hit to left field, scoring Acuna. May then induced a huge double play to Travis d’Arnaud and struck out Ozzie Albies to end the inning. It could have been a much bigger inning for the Braves.
Off and running!#MixItUp pic.twitter.com/aXtBnU6TiY
— Atlanta Braves (@Braves) October 19, 2020
Ian Anderson allowed a leadoff single to Mookie Betts before sitting the next three batters (Corey Seager, Justin Turner, Max Muncy) down in order. Tony Gonsolin came in for May in the second inning and promptly gave up a homer to Dansby Swanson as the Braves extended their lead to 2-0.
DansBYE!#MixItUp | #ForTheA pic.twitter.com/jQbdnjFKgg
— Atlanta Braves (@Braves) October 19, 2020
Anderson got into some trouble in the bottom of the second as he gave up back-to-back singles to AJ Pollock and Joc Pederson with two outs. A passed ball by d’Arnaud moved Pederson to second which furthered the threat. But Anderson then struck out Chris Taylor to end the inning. Gonsolin pitched the third inning and sat the Braves down in order. This was huge, as the Dodgers got things going in the second. With two outs, Anderson allowed a costly walk to Justin Turner. As they always say, walks always come to bite you in the rear. This was true here as Max Muncy doubled before Will Smith delivered a huge two-out, two-RBI single to knot the game at 2-2.
The Fresh Prince delivers. pic.twitter.com/zXeJDR77Sq
— Los Angeles Dodgers (@Dodgers) October 19, 2020
Gonsolin came back out for his third inning of work in the fourth. He got into trouble after surrendering walks to two straight batters (Albies, Swanson). Not surprisingly, this came back to haunt him. Austin Riley came up next and delivered an RBI base hit to center field. The Braves snatched the lead with the potential to tack on more, as there were no outs.
AUSTIN 3:16 SAYS THE BRAVES ARE BACK IN FRONT#MixItUp | #ForTheA pic.twitter.com/A8xl51Noh2
— Atlanta Braves (@Braves) October 19, 2020
This forced Dave Roberts to make a switch and he went to one of his most reliable relievers in Blake Treinen. What came next was the biggest turning point in the game. Treinen threw a wild pitch, moving Swanson and Riley each up a base. Nick Markakis came up and hit a rocket to third. Swanson ran on contact and Turner threw to home. After a short rundown, Turner tagged Swanson out and then threw to third as Riley was trying to advance. Riley was tagged out as the Dodgers pulled off the improbable double play. These key baserunning blunders by the Braves would come back to bite them.
Tyler Matzek entered in the fourth and pitched one scoreless inning, striking out one. Treinen pitched a 1-2-3 fifth before being replaced by Brusdar Graterol in the sixth. A huge play came in that fifth inning as Freeman rocked a fly ball to right field. Mookie Betts jumped at the wall and came up with the homer-robbing catch, keeping the score at 3-2.
MOOKIE AGAIN. pic.twitter.com/SlSttMLcVj
— Los Angeles Dodgers (@Dodgers) October 19, 2020
Shane Greene and Graterol each pitched scoreless innings for Los Angeles, with Graterol striking out two. A.J. Minter came on in the sixth for the Braves which caused Roberts to bring in Kiké Hernández as a pinch-hitter. The move to Hernandez paid off as he launched an enormous game-tying home run.
KIKÉ, DEEP IN THE HEART OF TEXAS. pic.twitter.com/NQaELWU3IA
— Los Angeles Dodgers (@Dodgers) October 19, 2020
Chris Martin was called upon with two outs and induced a flyout. Julio Urias came in for the Dodgers in the seventh and pitched a 1-2-3 inning. With two outs in the seventh and Martin still in the game, Cody Bellinger stepped to the plate. Looking to have a landmark postseason moment, Bellinger delivered the knockout punch with a deep home run to right field.
STRUT ON ‘EM, CODY. pic.twitter.com/083UekW8sI
— Los Angeles Dodgers (@Dodgers) October 19, 2020
Urias pitched the final two innings and sat the final six batters down. Overall, he pitched a perfect three innings. The game was a back-and-forth affair with the two teams trading blows in a heavyweight bout. In the end, the Dodgers delivered the decisive blow and held on for the 4-3 victory to advance their third World Series in four years.
Statistics
The trio of Treinen, Graterol, and Urias was huge as they combined for six shutout innings out of the bullpen. Urias picked up the win with his three shutout innings. Six of the Dodgers’ starting hitters had at least one hit, with Betts having two. Shortstop Seager was named series MVP after launching five homers and driving in 11, which are both NLCS records.
What’s Next?
The Dodgers move on to the World Series to face the Tampa Bay Rays. Game 1 will be on Tuesday with the first pitch at 8:09 p.m. EST. The Braves will be looking ahead to the offseason and 2021. They will have some decisions to make with their roster as Mark Melancon, Shane Greene, and Marcell Ozuna are all free agents.
World Series Game 1
Date: Tuesday, Oct. 20 at 8:09 p.m. EST
Location: Arlington, TX
Stadium: Globe Life Field
TV: FOX
Rays Pitcher: TBD
Dodgers Pitcher: TBD
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