DEFINING MOMENTS
1. Evan Gattis’ diving attempt in left field
Situation: Braves down 1-0 with two outs in the bottom of second inning.
Result: Gattis' diving attempt at an A.J. Ellis liner down the left-field line resulted in an RBI double and a 2-0 Braves' deficit.
Comment: Catcher is Gattis' natural position and he showed the liability he can be in left field on a ball that most left fielders catch. He hasn't looked like a rookie often this season, but he also showed his inexperience with the base-running error in the second inning, getting doubled off first base on a Chris Johnson pop fly.
2. Adrian Gonzalez homers to center
Situation: Runner at second base with two outs in the third inning, Dodgers up 2-0.
Result: Gonzalez homered on first-pitch change-up from Kris Medlen to double the lead to 4-0 with his first postseason home run. He got five hits, all singles, in four games of the 2006 NLDS as a San Diego Padre.
Comment: Clayton Kershaw was 25-1 over the past three seasons when staked to a four-run lead, including 11-0 in 2013. Medlen hadn't allowed a home run in his final six starts of the regular season, since Matt Holliday homered off him in St. Louis on Aug. 23.
3. Brian McCann fly caught by Carl Crawford at wall
Situation: Braves down 5-0 but threatening with runners first and second with one out in the fourth inning.
Result: McCann sent a fly ball deep to left field, which had extra-bases written all over it, but Crawford caught it a few feet shy of the left-field wall.
Comment: McCann's opposite-field shot could have cut it to 5-2 against Kershaw. The Braves settled for an RBI single by Chris Johnson a batter later and proceeded to then strike out six times in a row.
ANALYSIS
Pitching: Medlen gave up five earned runs in four-plus innings to the Dodgers, after allowing them only four earned runs in 29 1/3 innings for his career. Medlen has given up five runs in each of his first two career postseason starts, though three were unearned after the Braves committed three errors in the 2012 Wild Card game. Medlen struck out the first three batters he faced Thursday in a 14-pitch first inning, but the Dodgers manufactured two runs in the second inning with the help of two-strike hits by Juan Uribe and A.J. Ellis. The nine hits Medlen allowed were his most since giving up nine twice in three starts in early July, to the Marlins and Reds.
Hitting: The Braves struck out 12 times against Kershaw, including six in a row from the fourth through the sixth innings. The Braves mustered only bloop hit the first time through the order against Kershaw, but worked the majors' ERA-leader for 51 pitches. He had thrown 77 pitches through four innings, but went on his strikeout frenzy while using only 13 and 14 pitches in each of the next two innings.
Defense: Jason Heyward made an aggressive play, throwing home against the speedy Yasiel Puig rather than hitting the cutoff man, allowing Juan Uribe to take the extra base. With Uribe at second, Gattis then dove for Ellis's liner that got past him for a double. Elliot Johnson could have been charged with an error on Crawford's grounder to second base to lead off the third inning. It was ruled a hit, which cost Medlen two earned runs as Gonzalez followed with a homer.
Bullpen: Braves relievers allowed only one run while covering the final five innings. Jordan Walden gave up the only run, on a Hanley Ramirez RBI double. Walden has allowed runs in each of his past four outings, including his last three of the regular season. Luis Ayala struck out two to leave the bases loaded in the fifth inning and strand two of Medlen's runners.
In the dugout: Fredi Gonzalez did Thursday what he did down the stretch and that's try to get as much offense into his lineup as possible, by playing Heyward in center field, Gattis in left and Johnson at second base. All three had defensive miscues Thursday night.
