LOS ANGELES — A day after the heat and the home runs, Dodger Stadium got a cooler, later start and a very different kind of game. This one belonged to Atlanta from the first inning on. The Braves controlled the tempo, made the Dodgers chase pitches all night, and held on for a 3-2 win that ties the NLDS at a game apiece and sends the series back to Atlanta. Los Angeles finished with six hits and left runners on in nearly every inning, the kind of night where the box score tells you a team had chances without telling you how badly those chances mattered.
Atlanta Strikes First, Dodgers Can’t Follow
The Braves wasted no time setting the tone. Ronald Acuña Jr. singled and stole second, Matt Olson and Ozzie Albies drew back to back walks to load the bases, and Mauricio Dubón’s two out single brought home the game’s first run before Los Angeles had even come to bat. The Dodgers had their own looks early, Freddie Freeman singled in the second and Miguel Rojas doubled in the third, but both chances died on the bases. It was the first sign of what became the theme of the night, traffic that never turned into runs.
Freeman Answers, But Snell Starts to Unravel
Freddie Freeman tied it in the fourth with a solo homer to right, the kind of swing that should have shifted momentum back toward Los Angeles. It didn’t last. Blake Snell had been fighting his control all night, five walks in just three and two thirds innings, and he was out of the game before the inning was over.
From there it became a full bullpen effort for the Dodgers, six different relievers trying to hold the line against a Braves lineup that kept finding ways to put pressure on. Roki Sasaki was the one bright spot out of that group, covering the final two innings without allowing a baserunner, but by the time he got the ball the damage was mostly already done.
Harris Takes Over
Michael Harris II was the player Los Angeles couldn’t solve. He tripled in the fifth and came around to score on a wild pitch to put Atlanta back in front, then doubled in the seventh to drive in Matt Olson and push the lead to 3-1.
Three hits on the night from Harris, and both of Atlanta’s go ahead runs traced back to his bat. The Dodgers had chances to answer in between, with Mookie Betts and Shohei Ohtani both reaching in the fifth before the inning died, and more traffic in the sixth and eighth that never turned into anything. It was the kind of stretch where the lineup kept putting itself in position and kept coming up empty.
A Late Push That Falls Just Short
Los Angeles finally found something in the ninth. Max Muncy, pinch hitting, drove a ball to right center for a home run that cut the deficit to 3-2 and gave the stadium one last reason to believe.
It wasn’t enough. Josue De Paula popped out to end it, and the Dodgers were left to think about everything that didn’t go their way over the first eight innings rather than the rally that came one batter too late.
Up Next
The series shifts to Atlanta for Game 3 on Tuesday, with Yoshinobu Yamamoto taking the mound for Los Angeles against Chris Sale. The NLDS is tied 1-1.
Yoshinobu Yamamoto gets the ball for Los Angeles in Game 3 on Tuesday, opposite Chris Sale as the series shifts to Atlanta. Credit: @Dodgers