For the second game in a row, the Dodgers' offense was outpaced by the Braves — but, toward the end, the team flashed what has made it one of the best-hitting squads in baseball.
After the Braves' 8-7 win in Game 2 on Tuesday night, Los Angeles trails 2-0 in the National League Championship Series despite entering as the favorite largely because of its stellar offense, eventually showcased with a four-run ninth inning.
“I think it’s just one game at a time, I know it sounds cliché, but that’s the only way to do it and to approach it," Dodgers manager Dave Roberts said of making a comeback in the series. "I thought that just late, us showing some life offensively was very good to see. Earlier on, we created some traffic and just couldn’t get that one, two big hits, and they did. To see us fighting, that was a good thing.”
The Dodgers led the league with a plus-136 run differential, which is 52 better than the No. 2 team (Padres, plus-84). They are the only team to not be shut out all season, and their average of 5.82 runs per game were the most in franchise history. They also led the league with 118 home runs (the Braves were second with 103) and their 1.97 home runs per game is the best in MLB history, ahead of the Twins in 2019 (1.90). The two teams were 1-2 in many offensive statistical categories, including RBIs, with the Braves first in the league with 338 and the Dodgers next with 327.
In their Game 2 loss, the Dodgers didn’t show much life until the seventh inning, when Darren O’Day allowed singles to Joc Pederson and Chris Taylor. A.J. Minter replaced O’Day and gave up a three-run homer to Corey Seager to pull the Dodgers within four runs.
For most of the game, it was largely the Braves' offense on display, but the Dodgers stormed back in the bottom of the ninth. In the top of the ninth, a home run by Ozzie Albies (with Adam Kolarek pitching) cushioned the Braves’ lead, 8-3, which turned out to be a crucial run. Seager responded with an RBI double, and after Josh Tomlin gave up a two-run homer to Max Muncy, the Braves sent Mark Melancon to the mound. Will Smith reached on a fielding error by Albies, and an RBI triple by Cody Bellinger brought the Dodgers within one.
It seemed LA’s offense, certainly capable of coming back from a seven-run deficit, had been unleashed, but Melancon got the final out and stopped the bleeding. Roberts was encouraged by the rhythm the Dodgers found in the ninth, however.
“I think for us to be able to get Melancon in the game tonight, when we were down 7-0, I thought was big," Roberts said. "To see some other arms we hadn’t seen yet in the series I thought was important. But that home run by Corey going the other way, I thought was an exhale for everybody and then you looked at in the ninth inning, we took some good at-bats, put some runs on the board, so I definitely think that that’s some momentum we can take into tomorrow.”
Braves starter Ian Anderson looked shaky at times (four innings pitched, one hit, five walks, five strikeouts), but the Dodgers weren’t able to capitalize early, stranding six on base during Anderson’s outing.
Tony Gonsolin, starting in Clayton Kershaw’s stead (scratched because of back spasms) got off to a solid start before running into trouble in the fourth inning.
Gonsolin (4-1/3 innings, three hits, five earned runs, three walks, seven strikeouts) faced the minimum through the first three innings, but for the second time in the series, a home run by Freddie Freeman put the Braves up first, this time making it 2-0. They piled on with a four-run fifth inning and Dansby Swanson’s ground-rule double in the seventh made it 7-0, which seemed a decisive lead at the time.
After their three runs in bottom of the seventh, the Dodgers built on that offensive burst in the ninth, something they weren’t able to do in Game 1, when Kike Hernandez’s solo home run in the fifth inning was the only thing that got them on the board.
But the Braves had padded their lead enough, just barely, to seal the win.
“This team’s got a lot of fight," Seager said. "We’ve done it all year. We were one swing, one anything away from tying that ballgame and going into extras. It’s never over until it’s over, this is a long series and we’re looking up to the challenge.”
