The Dodgers spent Game 2 of the NLDS learning the hard way that a bullpen game can look a lot uglier when the bats go silent.
Atlanta’s relievers had gotten through the Wild Card round in respectable shape, but Braves manager Walt Weiss still rolled the dice by opening the first two games of the series with back-to-back bullpen games against Los Angeles. The matchup on paper was lopsided from the start: Tarik Skubal and Blake Snell on one side, Dylan Dodd and Ray Kerr on the other.
The first night tilted Atlanta’s way for a while. Dodd delivered three scoreless innings, but the Dodgers finally cracked things open in the fourth when Teoscar Hernández got to Victor Mederos with a two-run homer. Atlanta added a few more runs later, and Los Angeles never fully recovered.
Game 2 gave the Braves another boost from Kerr, whose postseason run keeps getting stranger. He had already handled the Phillies well enough in the previous round, and he was sharp again against the Dodgers, allowing just two hits and a walk over 2 2/3 innings.
Los Angeles had chances. Will Smith left two runners stranded in the third after Grant Holmes entered, and Freddie Freeman briefly pulled the Dodgers level with a solo homer in the fourth. For a moment, it looked like the offense might finally break through.
Instead, the night turned into a long list of missed chances. The Dodgers finished 0-for-8 with runners in scoring position and fell 3-2, a frustrating result that sends them to Atlanta with Chris Sale waiting.
Weiss had been pressed before the series about Sale, who threw 6 1/3 innings in Game 1 of the Wild Card round against the Phillies and then came back for 1 1/3 more in Game 3 to finish the job. After Game 1 of this series, the questions only got louder, but Weiss kept trusting his bullpen. For now, that choice has paid off.
Atlanta’s three runs came against Blake Snell, Kris Bubic, and Edgardo Henriquez. The scoring sequence included a single by Mauricio Dubón, a wild pitch from Bubic that allowed Michael Harris II to score from third, and then a Michael Harris double.
The Dodgers did get one last pulse in the ninth when Max Muncy, down to his final strike, launched a solo homer off Didier Fuentes, who was trying to close out a four-inning save. But the comeback stopped there, with Josue De Paula making his first postseason at-bat and popping out on the third pitch he saw.
Yoshinobu Yamamoto now gets the ball for Los Angeles, and he has been nearly untouchable on the road this year. That gives the Dodgers a strong shot to keep the series from slipping further. But if the lineup doesn’t wake up soon, this one could get messy fast.
In Other News...
Dodgers Let NLDS Control Slip Away After Another Offensive Letdown
Blake Snells afternoon never found a rhythm, and the Dodgers could not do enough offensively to take advantage of the opening it created. Los Angeles dropped a 3-2 decision to the Braves in Game 2 of the National League Division Series, a result that evened the series at one game apiece and left the Dodgers searching for the timely hit that has been missing too often in October.
Snell issued a season-high five walks, and the game turned on a chaotic stretch that included a wild pitch from Braves reliever Kris Bubic before Atlanta grabbed the go-ahead run. Freddie Freeman also came through for the Braves with a home run, his first since Sept. 2, adding another swing that helped flip the momentum and leave the Dodgers with a split instead of control. [Read more 🡒]
Dodgers Face A Lineup Decision That Could Test Braves In Game 3
After getting bottled up by the Braves in Game 2 of the National League Division Series, the Dodgers are staring at a familiar October problem: how to jolt an offense that went quiet when it needed to answer back. Atlanta leaned on multiple pitchers to keep Los Angeles in check, and now Dave Roberts is weighing a lineup tweak for Game 3 as the series shifts into a more urgent phase for a team trying to avoid elimination.
The concern centers on center fielder Andy Pages, whose postseason struggles have become hard to ignore, and that has opened the door for Enrique Hernandez to potentially step in and give the lineup a different look. Hernandez has earned a reputation as a reliable October bat, which is part of what makes this decision so interesting for the Dodgers, who need more than just better at-bats now - they need a spark that can change the feel of the series. [Read more 🡒]
Dodgers Suddenly Face A Real Andy Pages Lineup Dilemma
Andy Pages arrived at October with the kind of profile the Dodgers hoped would translate, but through two postseason games he has not found much traction. He has gone hitless in eight plate appearances, drawing one walk and striking out four times, and the swing-and-miss issues have stood out even more because they are so far above his regular-season norms. For a Dodgers lineup built to keep pressure on opposing pitching, that kind of drop-off from a regular contributor quickly becomes hard to ignore.
Dave Roberts has already made one adjustment by limiting Pages ability to challenge calls, a small but telling sign that the club is trying to manage both the player and the moment. If the struggles continue, the Dodgers do not appear short on alternatives, which only adds to the tension around Pages spot. In October, even a young hitter with legitimate upside can find himself one rough stretch away from a lineup debate. [Read more 🡒]