Ronald Acuna doubled on the first pitch he saw from Dodgers starter Clayton Kershaw. The Braves already presented more promise in Game 2 on Friday than they ever did in Game 1.
Except Acuna was stranded at third. Manny Machado followed with a two-run bomb in his team’s portion of the first. Kershaw retired the next 14 consecutive Braves, polluting any breath of optimism, in route to eight shutout innings.
The good vibes were short. The series might be as well.
Friday’s 3-0 loss put the Braves in a 2-0 hole as the National League Division Series shifts to SunTrust Park Sunday. The Braves are on the brink of losing their ninth consecutive postseason series. They’ll have to win three consecutive games against the Dodgers to advance.
“It’s obviously not what we envisioned,” said first baseman Freddie Freeman, whose long-awaited return to postseason play has been more akin to the 2015 Braves than 2018’s edition.
As for what happened in Los Angeles, all the Braves can do is move on. They were battered, beaten and bruised. They didn’t score a run. They didn’t get any lucky breaks. They never had the fortune of a lead. Their bats diminished as the Dodgers enacted an in-house home-run derby.
On Thursday, the Braves produced six hits, each a two-out single. A runner never reached third, only two reached second. Dodgers starter Hyun-Jin Ryu was in complete command.
On Friday, terms weren’t much better. They posted three hits, failing to pose a real scoring threat after the first.
“We’re not swinging the bats well,” manager Brian Snitker said. “We haven’t been in a while. Three of the last four games we haven’t scored. ... Collectively, we’re not swinging the bats well. On top of that, we faced two guys who didn’t miss. They didn’t miss location, they didn’t make mistakes for two games. Those were two guys who were about as pinpoint as you can be.”
Kershaw’s artistry with the ball rivaled Picasso with the brush. He was angry he didn’t get the start in Game 1, not that any extra motivation was needed in the face of his postseason criticisms.
He took the mound in the ninth and was relieved by Kenley Jansen after warming up. Dodgers manager Dave Roberts withstood a chorus of boos while lifting his ace. The intention, Roberts said, was to have the Braves burn two players in a pinch-hit situation. Tyler Flowers was up and replaced by Lucas Duda, who grounded to first.
It was the first time in Kershaw’s storied career he’s pitched eight innings in the postseason. Not the type of history for which the Braves hoped.
“They’re a very good hitting team, obviously,” Kershaw said. “They’ve done a lot of damage early in counts, especially a lot of those guys like to swing the bats. We kind of know that, and then I kind of know that in general. I feel like a lot of our - a lot of other teams against me tend to swing early for the most part.”
The Braves broke his string of success with Ender Inciarte’s two-out infield single in the fifth. The southpaw hit pinch-hitter Lane Adams to lead off the next inning, but he coaxed a double play from Johan Camargo.
“That was a whole different Kershaw than I’ve ever seen,” Freeman said. “Usually 94-96 mph with an 88-mph slider, big curveball. I saw one curveball tonight and 90 mph heaters. It was weird. We were hitting the ball in play. Weak ground balls, popups. “
Anibal Sanchez gave the Braves just 4-2/3 innings a night after starter Mike Foltynewicz pitched two. Sanchez’s biggest miscues came on Joc Pederson’s leadoff double and Machado’s homer in the first.
The latter was perhaps the tale of the night. It was a 3-0 count, two out with Pederson at third. Sanchez delivered a cutter low in the strike zone that Machado obliterated.
Snitker shouldered blame, acknowledging he could’ve told Sanchez to walk Machado, setting up runners at the corners with two down for Yasiel Puig. Instead, Snitker assumed Sanchez wouldn’t give him anything to hit.
But Sanchez was committed to attacking the zone, a miscommunication that dug the Braves a two-run hole.
“You try to execute a pitch, 3-0 count, you want to throw a pitch for a strike, especially (with) how good of a hitter Machado is,” Sanchez said. “And I know for some reason at that moment, that’s why I tried to execute the pitch. But he put a really good swing on it.”
Yasmani Grandal later plastered a sinker that didn’t sink deep into the right-field bleachers for another run in the fifth.
Game 3 will be win or stay home for the Braves. Kevin Gausman opposes Walker Buehler. The Braves will need to win both home contests, which would be Sunday and Monday, if necessary, to force a winner take all Game 5 on Wednesday at Dodger Stadium.
“We just have to reassess and put better at-bats against Walker on Sunday or we’re going to be going home and that’s not what we want,” Freeman said.
