Steve Webb
CHAVEZ RAVINE, CA — Ugh. Finally, the Dodgers get some decent pitching, and suddenly forget how to hit with runners in scoring position. After missing numerous opportunities to score during the game, the Dodgers found themselves with a 1-1 tie with the Atlanta Braves at the end of regulation. However, a three-run home run from Orlando Arcia in the the 10th inning proved to be the difference, sending the Dodgers to their third straight defeat at the hands of the rival Braves.
In all, the Dodgers hit 1-for-10 with runners in scoring position, and their two runs on the day were both scored on outs. Austin Barnes came home to score on a bases-loaded double play in the bottom of the third, and Max Muncy hit a sac fly to plate the Dodgers’ placed runner in the bottom of the tenth, but that was it. Beyond that, it was just a matter of missing opportunities. Granted, Mookie Betts got rung up on a ball that was considerably out of the strike zone with the bases loaded in the fourth. But the Dodgers had plenty of opportunities to win this game in regulation, and they just didn’t take them.
“We still have a really good offense,” manager Dave Roberts said of the loss. “That first game [of the series], we got to the pen. Last night and tonight, we didn’t really do a whole lot. It’s just one of those things that you can’t overthink it a whole lot. Like we always say, hitting is difficult, it’s tough to do. Hopefully, you can turn the page and salvage the series tomorrow.”
As for the mound work, it was 9.2 innings of good pitching. Emmet Sheehan looked sharp in his four innings on the mound, getting lots of swing and miss and striking out six Braves hitters. The lone blemish to an otherwise perfect day was a 3-0 pitch to Ronald Acuna Jr. The Braves slugger absolutely demolished Sheehan’s four-seamer, sending screaming toward the centerfield stands at 121 miles an hour. Yikes! If Acuna goes on to win the MVP over Mookie Betts, you could well point to this series as the thing that sealed the deal for him. He’s been dominant whereas Mookie has been pretty quiet since his huge performance on Thursday night.
It took five relievers to get through the first nine innings. They all pitched well, but Sheehan’s short start left manager Dave Roberts with few good choices out of the pen for extras. He decided to send Alex Vesia, who had gotten the Dodgers out of the ninth back out for one more inning.
The tenth started out well enough for Vesia. He got a pop-out and a fly ball to quickly record the first two outs of the inning. But then, things went very bad, very quickly. He walked catcher Sean Murphy on four pitches. Then, on the very first pitch to shortstop Orlando Arcia, Vesia surrendered a three-run tater that basically put the game on ice for the Braves. The Dodgers scratched across a run in the bottom of the tenth, but could manage nothing else.
When Amed Rosario struck out to end the game, the Dodgers plunged seven games behind the Braves for best record in the National League, all but assuring that Game Seven of the NLCS will be played in Atlanta, should these two teams make it past the divisional round (neither team did last year, so who knows?).
“I mean, you can’t take too much out of it,” said Max Muncy after the game. “If we face them in the postseason, it will be completely different games. I think we have proven that in the past against teams that we have played… It’s an exciting series right now, and a lot of fun for people watching it, but at the end of the day, it’s not going to be the same if it’s in the playoffs.”
So, having lost the series, the season series, and a good deal of their pride, the Dodgers try to get something rolling again with a win on Sunday in the series finale. To accomplish this feat, they send Bobby Miller to the bump. Miller’s had flashes of brilliance in 2023, and it looks more and more like he will be a big part of the plans in October. Let’s see what he can bring to the table against the Braves, who counter with the crafty veteran Charlie Morton. Game time is 1:10 pm.
It’s been a frustrating weekend of baseball, but have faith Dodger fans. There is a good team on the field every day. But, to make it to the promised land, they’ll have to slay the dragon that lives in Atlanta. A win on Sunday will go a long way toward reassuring the fanbase that such a thing is still possible.
