The Braves need their best hitters to save their season.
They’re on the brink of elimination after losing 3-1 Tuesday at Truist Park, leaving the Dodgers just one victory away from advancing to the National League Championship Series.
The loss offset the benefits gained by stealing Game 2 at Dodger Stadium, and now the Braves must defeat the two-time reigning champs in consecutive games to continue their season.
Pressure mounds on the Braves’ offense. The Dodgers haven’t hit well themselves – they’re 22-for-101 (.218), and they don’t have a hit with a runner in scoring position in this series – but the Braves’ offensive deficiencies cost them Tuesday. They squandered a well-pitched game because the team couldn’t find the timely hit.
It’s a tough ask to produce several runs off Dodgers ace Yoshinobu Yamamoto, who was superb over seven innings, but there were plenty of opportunities later in the night that didn’t translate into runs.
The Braves loaded the bases against Yamamoto in the fifth but scored just once. They were a swing away from resetting the game in the eighth and ninth, against Tanner Scott and Edwin Diaz, respectively, but couldn’t pull it off.
It underscores a glaring issue: The Braves need more from their best players at this stage of the postseason.
“We hold ourselves to a high standard and we couldn’t get some runs across,” catcher Drake Baldwin said. “We’re not too happy about it. Whenever (ace starting pitcher Chris) Sale goes out there, we want to give him run support. Only giving him one run – we wish we could’ve gotten him some more runs.”
Third baseman Austin Riley, who smacked the winning homer in Game 1 of the Wild Card Series, looks similar to his underwhelming regular-season form. He’s 2-for-19 with six strikeouts this postseason. There was hope that home run would awaken Riley’s slumber. That hasn’t been the case.
Outfielder Ronald Acuña Jr., once someone who embraced this stage as a showman, has wilted. He’s 3-for-21 without an extra-base hit or RBI this postseason.
He burned a challenge early in Tuesday’s game that likely played a part in first baseman Matt Olson resisting a challenge on a would-be ball four in the sixth. Acuña left two stranded in the prior frame after the Braves had finally broken through against Yamamoto. He’s also dealing with a sore knee that necessitated a move to designated hitter before Tuesday’s game.
Olson, facing Tanner Scott after Acuña drew a two-out walk in the eighth, struck out. He’s 4-for-23 with nine strikeouts since the regular season concluded. It’s a continuation of Olson’s second-half decline that culminated with a .222/.255/.378 line in September. He’s the best power threat in the lineup; his struggles might have the greatest impact of them all.
Baldwin, meanwhile, is 3-for-23 with one extra-base hit in his postseason debut. He closed the season well, hitting .309 with a .833 OPS in September, so there was hope he’d carry that into October.
Those four - Olson, Riley, Acuña and Baldwin - have combined for 25 of the Braves’ 55 strikeouts across six games.
It must be noted that the Braves have faced excellent pitching. Offensive numbers are down across the majors. The Braves have dealt with some masterful artists on the Phillies and Dodgers. But these players are deemed stars for a reason.
The Dodgers’ next starter is Tyler Glasnow, who, while possessing injury risk, also has one of the most electric repertoires in the majors. “Another really good pitcher,” Riley said. “Their staff is one of the best, if not the best. This time of year you have to be able to figure out a way to get runs across against them. Figure out a way. We’re going to be up to the challenge.”
It can’t just be outfielder Michael Harris II – who’s become a proven postseason performer – and random spurts of excellence from role players. The Braves’ core players, those who carry the largest burdens, need to give more for this team to avoid elimination.
And while there haven’t been many indicators that swift changes are coming, the Braves had their chances Tuesday. The Dodgers’ bullpen has its faults. And it’s not like the L.A. offense is doing enough to put games out of reach.
“We had some opportunities (Tuesday) and didn’t capitalize on it,” Riley said. “This time of year, you have to. When you have opportunities, you have to make them pay. We did a couple nights ago (in Game 2). You just have to do it (Wednesday).”
There are unsung heroes abound in this run. Pitchers Ray Kerr and Didier Fuentes are chief among them. But it’s difficult to envision the Braves overcoming the Dodgers – much less what awaits them beyond that – without getting more from their best run producers. For all the applause about the 2021 team’s unexpected contributors, the stars carried their weight, too.
And that’s how the situation sets for Wednesday, a day that will either again be a data point for the Braves’ resilience, or one that sees another playoff appearance end without pomp and circumstance.