DEFINING MOMENTS
1. Carl Crawford’s three-run homer
Situation: Braves up 2-1 with runners at corners and two out in the second inning.
Result: Crawford hit a three-run home run on a Julio Teheran's 2-2 slider to give Dodgers a 4-2 lead.
Comment: Crawford had been only 2-for-9 in the series entering Sunday but went 2-for-2 in his first two at-bats against Teheran, coming up with a huge hit on a hanging breaking ball. It was a harbinger of things to come on a rough night for Teheran.
2. Hanley Ramirez’s triple
Situation: Braves down 6-4 with one out in the fourth inning and Alex Wood on the mound in relief.
Result: Ramirez tripled off the left field wall for his sixth extra-base hit in only 12 at-bats in the series to tie Steve Garvey's Dodgers postseason record for extra-base hits in a series.
Comment: Ramirez, the headstrong shortstop who gave manager Fredi Gonzalez some difficulty as his manager in Florida, is giving him headaches this series. He has four doubles, a triple and a two-run home run in the first three games. His triple just cemented how unstoppable he's been and prolonged the inning for Juan Uribe, who followed with a three-run homer.
3. Evan Gattis singles in 11-pitch at-bat
Situation: Braves trailing 4-2 with runners first and second with nobody out in the third inning.
Result: Gattis blooped a single to center to load the bases, and Braves go on to tie the game 4-4 from there without the benefit of a hit.
Comment: Gattis fouled off seven pitches against Huyn-Jin Ryu, including four straight 3-2 change-ups, before singling on a fastball to give him four hits in his first seven at-bats in the postseason. He went 3-for-5 on the night to make him 5-for-10 in the series.
ANALYSIS
Pitching: Teheran lasted only 2 2/3 innings, allowing a career-high six runs, for the shortest start of his career in his first ever postseason start. Teheran established his fastball early, throwing six to start the game and ending with 12 fastballs out of 16 pitches in an effective first inning. But it was a slider that ruined his second inning – a 2-2 hanger to Carl Crawford for his three-run homer - as he started mixing his pitches to little avail.
Hitting: The Braves' power-proud lineup has been out-homered 4-0 by the Dodgers this series, until Jason Heyward hit a two-run shot off left-hander Paco Rodriguez in the ninth inning. Justin Upton had two hits and scored two runs in two at-bats off Hyun-Jin Ryu. The Braves scored four runs in three innings off lefty Ryu, but none in three innings off left-hander Chris Capuano, who had a 2.61 ERA in 13 games against the Braves entering Sunday.
Defense: The Braves played another sloppy defensive game, like Game 1, but this time committing two errors. Alex Wood botched a bunt by Crawford in the fourth that led to four unearned runs in the inning. Elliot Johnson threw wildly to first trying to turn a double play with Adrian Gonzalez barreling into him at second base.
Bullpen: Wood was charged with four unearned runs in 2 1/3 innings of relief, when called upon to replace Teheran in the third inning. That is expected to keep him out of action for Game 4 Monday night.
In the dugout: Gonzalez has counted on young pitchers all season and had it backfire Sunday night as Wood and Teheran, both 22, gave up 10 runs in five innings combined. Gonzalez will have to think hard about pitching around Ramirez, even with Adrian Gonzalez hitting behind him.
