How do you stop Corey Seager when it seems he can’t miss?
The Braves certainly haven’t found the answer yet, but they’ll need to soon if they hope to earn a World Series berth.
Seager has dominated the National League Championship Series so far, helping the Dodgers to a 3-1 win Saturday and force a Game 7 after starting out with a two-game deficit in the series.
In addition to helping the Dodgers even things up, 3-3, Seager’s individual stats also are making history. Seager’s five home runs and 11 RBIs this series are the most for a player in a single NLCS (keep in mind, he’ll be able to add on it in Game 7). In total this postseason, he’s hitting .333 (14-for-42) and has a league-leading six home runs and 15 RBIs, and in the NLCS specifically, he’s hitting 9-for-24 (375).
“That’s all it’s about is helping your team win," Seager said. "Doing what you can to help your team win, whether it’s moving a runner, whether it’s hitting a home run, whether it’s making a defensive play, whether it’s being the spark in the dugout. Anything that can help this team get going, you’re more than welcome to do.”
Seager’s six home runs and 15 RBIs (and counting) are the most by any Dodgers player in a single postseason. He is tied for third all-time on the Dodgers' postseason home run list: Duke Snider (11), Steve Garvey (10), Justin Turner (9) and Seager (9).
He has consistently provided timely hitting for Los Angeles: in their 15-3 win in Game 3, he became the second player in postseason history to drive in a run in five consecutive at-bats. In Game 5, the Dodgers' first must-win game of the series, Seager got them on the board first with a home run in the fourth inning and put them up 7-2 with a two-run homer in the seventh.
In Game 6, his solo shot in the first inning gave Los Angeles a 1-0 lead, with Max Fried giving up another homer a pitch later to Justin Turner. Giving up back-to-back home runs is uncharacteristic for Fried, but scoring like that is not so unusual for the Dodgers, who led the majors with 118 home runs this season.
“Seager was Seager again," Turner said. "Gets the offense going. (We) ended up getting three in the first and that was all Walker (Buehler) needed and then the bullpen did another outstanding job.”
This was the second time the Dodgers had faced Fried in the series, as Fried pitched a gem in the Braves' 5-1 win in Game 1, striking out nine and giving up one run on four hits in six innings. The Dodgers changed their approach when it comes to Fried’s curveball, Dodgers manager Dave Roberts said.
“He was getting ahead with the breaking ball the first time through to many of our guys, so just to be aggressive on spin early and to see Corey and J.T. jump-start us, was big," Roberts said. "Fortunately, that proved to be enough.”
An RBI single by Cody Bellinger made it 3-0 and the Braves couldn’t respond until Dodgers starter Walker Buehler (zero runs on seven hits, six strikeouts in six innings) was pulled — off reliever Blake Treinen in the seventh, an RBI double by Ronald Acuna scored Nick Markakis, who had tripled to reach base.
The Braves tied the Dodgers in hits, 9-9, but couldn’t get enough going to make up for that early three-run deficit. They went 2-for-11 with runners in scoring position.
With the series tied, Seager and the Dodgers have a chance to finish it off in Game 7. In NLCS elimination contests, the Dodgers are 6-6 all-time. The Dodgers have appeared in the league championship series (which was introduced in 1969) 14 times, which ties the Cardinals for the most in the NL.
“... At the end of the day, the personal stats don’t matter if you lose the last game," Seager said. "So tomorrow’s all about coming out and winning a baseball game.”
