Dodgers dominate as Braves’ offense struggles in season-ending loss

The Braves’ offense went ice cold at the worst possible time, and the NL East champs are now headed home after losing the NL Division Series in four games to the two-time defending world champion Dodgers.

A 4-1 loss Wednesday at Truist Park ended the Braves’ season.

Manager Walt Weiss’ team scored eight runs in four games in a fleeting attempt to dethrone the reigning champs. The Dodgers scored just 13 times, a lucky number that proved to still be more than enough.

Atlanta also went 1-for-22 with runners in scoring position over the four games, including 0-for-12 in the two losses at Truist Park.

The Braves went 94-68 during the regular season, then 3-4 in the postseason. Eliminating the rival Phillies in the wild-card round was little consolation for a club looking for a second World Series title since 2021.

Trailing 3-1 after 6⅓ innings, the Braves’ dormant offense stayed that way. They got a two-out double from Michael Harris II, one of the few who showed any life at the plate during the series, in the seventh but Ronald Acuña Jr. grounded out to shortstop on the first pitch of his at-bat.

The Braves went down in order in the eighth. Max Muncy padded the Dodgers’ lead in the ninth with a home run off Braves closer Raisel Iglesias.

In the ninth, a strikeout and pair of weak fly balls ended the season.

Austin Riley, Drake Baldwin, Matt Olson and Acuña went a combined 5-for-58 with 21 strikeouts.

Desperately needed to get some offense going, Harris took the first pitch from Dodgers right-hander Tyler Glasnow and sent it on a line drive into right field for a clean single. Harris stole second, went to third on a one-out grounder to second by Matt Olson and scored on a Glasnow wild pitch.

That gave Harris a team-high five runs scored this postseason.

But in the top of the second, the Braves’ defense blinked with two errors that let Shohei Ohtani score. The first came when Ohtani stole second on a called third strike to Teoscar Hernández and Braves catcher Sean Murphy threw the ball into center field.

That moved Ohtani to third, and he scored when Mauricio Dubón dropped Max Muncy’s pop up to left field. Dubón had been playing back on the infield grass and had to race back into shallow left to try to make the play.

Glasnow settled in from there, but his pitch count was at 78 after a four-pitch walk to Acuña with two outs in the fifth to put runners at first and second.

“I think just passing the baton, having quality at-bats and trying to make it as hard on starting pitching and pitchers in general, just make it as hard on them as possible,” Braves third baseman Austin Riley said before Wednesday’s game. “Working counts, not getting yourself out. I think that’s something that we’ve got to do tonight. I think if we do that, we’ll put ourselves in a good spot.”

The Dodgers went to the bullpen and brought in Alex Vesia, a left-hander, to face Olson. Olson swung at Vesia’s first pitch – and grounded out sharply to second base.

Despite walking five batters, Glasnow allowed just the one run over 4⅔ innings and held the Braves to one hit.

Vesia’s start to the sixth did not go as well as his finish to the fifth. Ozzie Albies hit a 2-2 fastball off the wall in left for a stand-up double. After Baldwin flied out to left, making the Braves 1-for-20 with runners in scoring position for the series, righty Edgardo Henriquez was called upon to face pinch-hitter Lane Thomas — Thomas chopped to third for a second easy out, then Dubón lined out to right leaving Albies stranded at second.

Mahle left after a one-out single in the sixth. A Braves’ trade deadline acquisition, Mahle pitched his tail off to the tune of 6⅓ innings, three hits allowed and one walk issued.