The Atlanta Braves still hold the pen and continue to author the story of the National League playoffs, moving two victories away from a spot in the World Series, although their ability to completely dictate the terms started to falter a bit.
The Braves delivered dominating pitching until the ninth inning Tuesday and showed a relentless offensive approach in defeating the Los Angeles Dodgers 8-7 on Tuesday. The result gives Atlanta a 2-0 lead in the best-of-seven National League Championship Series.
Yet there did appear to be a late-game momentum shift after the Dodgers, down 7-0 in the seventh inning, made the contest a nail-biter. Corey Seager hit a three-run home run in the seventh and added an RBI double in the ninth before a Max Muncy two-run home run.
After Cody Bellinger got the Dodgers to within a run on an RBI triple and represented the tying run at third base, AJ Pollock grounded out against Braves closer Mark Melancon.
“That is a powerful team there,” Braves manager Brian Snitker said. “I’m not concerned any more than I was yesterday when we started. It’s one of those teams that until that 27th out is made, you don’t feel good because of what they are capable of doing.”
Ultimately, the NLCS has been dictated by the first 17 innings of the opening two games, during which Atlanta outscored Los Angeles 12-4. The Braves have not only gone 7-0 in the expanded 16-team playoffs, but they have taken the early lead in all seven games. Now they need to make sure that one bad inning doesn’t alter the focus heading into Game 3.
It was always expected to get trickier from here, as rookie right-hander Kyle Wright (2-4, 5.21 ERA in the regular season) takes the mound in Game 3. The Braves have not announced a probable starter for Game 4, and speculation has centered on a bullpen game.
The pitching plan might not matter if Atlanta keeps delivering the kind of offense it did Tuesday. NL MVP candidate Freddie Freeman hit a home run for the second consecutive game and had three RBIs. Ozzie Albies also homered for a second day in a row and had three hits.
The Dodgers will try to slow down the Braves’ momentum with left-hander Julio Urias on the mound. He threw five sharp relief innings in Game 3 of the NL Division Series against the San Diego Padres, giving up just one unearned run and getting the win as the Dodgers completed a sweep.
Urias, 3-0 with a 3.27 ERA in 11 appearances (10 starts) in the regular season, has finally become a full-time starter in his fourth major league season.
After lefty Clayton Kershaw was forced to step aside from his Game 2 start because of back spasms, Urias now must get Los Angeles back on track. He could use support from an offense that scored just one run through the opening 15 innings of the series. Then came the signs of life.
“Tonight we took better (at-bats),” said Seager, who has three hits for the Dodgers in the first two games. “We got through the middle parts of the innings (in Game 1) and ABs got away from us. They had some quick innings. All night tonight we had real good ABs, and we need to continue that (in Game 3).”
The series is starting to look as if it involves the top two offenses in baseball. The Dodgers led the majors with 349 runs and 118 home runs in the regular season. The Braves were right with them, finishing second with 348 runs and 103 home runs.
The teams each had a .483 slugging percentage to tie for the top spot, while Atlanta had an .832 OPS, tops in the game to the Dodgers’ second-best mark of .821.
“We’re feeling good,” said Braves rookie right-hander Ian Anderson, who fired four more scoreless innings in Game 2 and has registered 15 2/3 scoreless innings in the playoffs. “We know those guys on the other side are a great team over there and they’re not going to waver confidence-wise.”
