The Braves’ season ended at home in Game 4 of the NLDS, with the Dodgers leaving Truist Park with a 4-1 win and a ticket to the NLCS. Atlanta leaned all year on a strong bullpen and crisp defense, but both of those pillars cracked at the wrong time, and the offense never found a steady rhythm to cover for it.
Michael Harris II kept trying to drag the Braves forward by himself. He was already the only Atlanta hitter with much of a pulse in the postseason, and he jumped right into the action in the first inning.
After Tyler Mahle opened with a clean 1-2-3 top half, Harris singled on the first pitch he saw, stole second, moved to third on a Matt Olson groundout, and scored on a wild pitch to put Atlanta up 1-0. It was the kind of fast start the Braves needed.
That edge vanished quickly in the second. Shohei Ohtani drew a leadoff walk, and an attempted strike’em out, throw ‘em out broke down on the back end, letting Ohtani reach third and putting Sean Murphy in the scorebook with a throwing error.
Mauricio Dubón then added another miscue when he couldn’t handle a pop up, which tied the game at 1-1 and let Max Muncy reach first. A double play erased both runners, but the damage to Atlanta’s momentum was already there.
From there, the game settled into a stretch of zeros. Mahle and Tyler Glasnow matched each other inning for inning, and nobody advanced beyond first base until Glasnow walked two hitters in the bottom of the fifth. Mahle’s night was otherwise tidy; the only hits he allowed after that were singles to Andy Pages, Kyle Tucker, and Teoscar Hernández.
Glasnow’s command wobbled more than the Braves could take advantage of. He handed out five walks, and Atlanta never turned any of them into runs.
The best chance came in that fifth inning. Austin Riley opened with a walk, Murphy lined out, and Harris struck out looking.
Ronald Acuña Jr. then worked a four-pitch walk, which pushed Dave Roberts to the bullpen after 73 pitches. Alex Vesia came on to face Olson, and the moment ended in a flash when Olson smashed the first pitch he saw at 107.8 miles per hour, only to pound it into the ground and end the inning.
Atlanta had another opening in the sixth. Ozzie Albies doubled off Vesia to start the frame on a ball that would have left the yard in 29 of 30 parks.
The only park where it didn’t? Truist Park.
Baldwin lined out, Walt Weiss sent Lane Thomas in for Mike Yastrzemski, and the Dodgers answered by bringing in Edgardo Henriquez. He got Thomas to ground out and Dubón to line out, leaving Albies stranded at second.
The break came in the seventh, and it came against Atlanta. Mahle returned to retire Ohtani, but Teoscar Hernández singled to end his outing.
Didier Fuentes entered with a runner aboard and got Muncy to ground out, but he couldn’t settle in. He walked Josue De Paula, who pinch-hit for Kiké Hernández, and then Kyle Tucker to load the bases.
Robert Suarez was next into the mess, and on a 3-2 count he gave up a two-run single to Andy Pages. Suarez got Mookie Betts to ground out on two pitches, but the Dodgers had seized control at 3-1.
Harris still wasn’t done trying. He ripped a two-out double off Henriquez in the bottom of the seventh, but Acuña followed with another first-pitch groundout, and the crowd responded with rare boos. The rest of the night felt like a formality.
Max Muncy added a ninth-inning homer off Raisel Iglesias to make it 4-1. Rowdy Tellez struck out in a pinch-hit appearance in the bottom half, Dubón added to the string of first-pitch outs, and Austin Riley’s fly ball was caught by Kyle Tucker to end it. The Dodgers moved on, while the Braves are left with an offseason to sort through what went wrong.
Back to being NL East champions, but of course we wanted more. We hope to see you in the spring.
In Other News...
Braves Just Made A Desperate Lineup Bet In A Must Win Game
With their season hanging over every pitch, the Braves unveiled a playoff lineup that signals both urgency and a willingness to mix things up. Michael Harris II is at the top, Ronald Acua Jr. is back in right field, and Atlanta is clearly trying to squeeze as much energy as possible out of a game that carries the weight of a must-win night.
The Dodgers answered with their own tweaks, putting Mookie Betts in the leadoff spot and sliding Shohei Ohtani into cleanup, a reminder of just how dangerous the other dugout can be when October chess pieces start moving around. The broadcast will have a different voice as well, with Brandon Gaudin filling in for Joe Davis, but for Atlanta the louder storyline is whether these lineup choices can give them enough edge to stay alive. [Read more 🡒]
Freddie Freeman Just Reopened An Uncomfortable Debate For Braves Fans
Freddie Freemans return to Atlanta brought the kind of reminder Braves fans expected and probably did not want. In Game 3, the former Braves first baseman went deep in the fourth inning to help the Dodgers move ahead in the series, and the home crowd met him with boos. Freeman, who spent 12 years in Atlanta before leaving for Los Angeles, said afterward he was unfazed by the reaction and still appreciative of his old team.
For Braves fans, the moment reopened a familiar debate about how to process one of the franchises modern icons wearing a different uniform in October. Dodgers manager Dave Roberts acknowledged the crowds response, but also pointed to the respect that remains for Freeman, even in a building where emotions clearly have not faded. It was the sort of postseason scene that leaves the baseball part of the story settled for the night, while the personal part hangs around a little longer. [Read more 🡒]
Braves Face One Lineup Decision That Could Swing NLDS Game 3
The Braves head into Game 3 of their NLDS against the Dodgers with the series even at one game apiece, and they have already shown a willingness to get creative. Walt Weiss went with an all-bullpen lineup in Game 2, a move that helped Atlanta steady the series and buy time as the matchup shifts to Truist Park. With Chris Sale lined up to pitch, the pitching side of the equation looks settled enough for the moment.
What is less settled is how the Braves want to arrange the rest of the lineup, especially with Rowdy Tellez now part of the mix. He has already offered value in ways that do not show up in the box score, which gives Atlanta another layer to consider as it tries to squeeze out one more edge in a short series. In a postseason where every decision gets magnified, the next lineup card could end up mattering just as much as the arm on the mound. [Read more 🡒]