Recap: Dodgers vs. Braves – NLCS – Game 7

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Dodgers (9-3)  |  Braves (8-4)

 

“You can almost taste the pressure now.” That is a line once said by former Dodgers broadscasting legend and baseball icon Vin Scully, and as usual Vin was correct.

 

 

The Dodgers and Braves faced off in Game 7 of the National League Championship Series, with the winner moving on to play the Tampa Bay Rays in the World Series. You won’t find many more high-pressure situations than that. Atlanta had two opportunities to put the Dodgers away and failed to do so while the Dodgers started to play with the type of swagger and emotion that has fueled them all season.

It started with two Mookie Betts defensive plays in Games 5 and 6 that will go down in Dodgers’ history as the plays that saved the season and possibly helped bring them their first World Series title since 1988.

Could the Dodgers do what they have never done in their storied history, come back from a 3-1 series deficit to advance to the next round of the playoffs? Or would it be yet another season of disappointment for Los Angeles baseball fans?

 

 

Los Angeles Dodgers vs. Atlanta Braves – National League Championship Series Game #7

 

Game 7 – Win – 4 – 3

 

The Dodgers put Dustin May on the mound to face off against Ian Anderson in their biggest game of the season. But like every game in this series, the two organizations took different routes in using their starters. May was used only for one inning, giving up a run in under 20 pitches. He was replaced by Tony Gonsolin, who gave up two runs in two innings of relief. Anderson stayed in the game for three innings, threw 73 pitches, and gave up two earned runs.

The Braves had a chance to break the game open at the top of the fourth inning, but another base running error cost them. With runners on second and third, Nick Markakis hit a ground ball to Dodgers’ third baseman Justin Turner who threw home to nail Dansby Swanson after a short rundown. Austin Riley, who was on second base, was then thrown out by Turner, trying advance to third base.

The Dodgers then got the third out of the inning and were fortunate to only give up one run to the Braves to keep the score close at 3-2. At the bottom of the fourth inning, the Dodgers had an opportune chance to tie or even take the lead. L.A. loaded the bases with two outs, but Max Muncy struck out on a 2-2 pitch to end the threat.

That’s when Mookie Betts did it again, this time it happened in the top of the fifth inning. Freddie Freeman hit a rainmaker off Blake Treinen, which sounded like a sure home run off the bat. Betts timed his jump perfectly and went high over the 8-foot wall in right field to bring back the jack. That was Betts‘ third web gem in three games, and hopefully for the Dodgers, the spark they needed to get their offense going.

 

The score remained the 3-2 until the bottom of the sixith when KiKi Hernandez tied the game up at 3 apiece with a solo home run off of the Braves’ A.J. Minter to lead off the inning.

 

The Dodgers and Braves continued their pitching duel until there were two outs in the bottom of the seventh inning. Dodgers outfielder Cody Bellinger hit a 2-2 pitch, the at-bat’s eighth pitch, deep over the rightfield wall to give the Dodgers a 4-3 lead. It was a great at-bat as Bellinger fouled off 3 tough pitches, all on the outside part of the plate, only to finally got a pitch he could drive and make the Braves pay.

 

After both teams failed to score in the eighth inning, Dodgers’ manager Dave Roberts had a decision to make: does he leave Julio Urias into pitch after he threw two innings of perfection, or does he turn to his closer Kenley Jansen who has had his struggles in recent weeks?

Roberts decided to leave Urias in, and the young lefthander rewarded his skipper by retiring the Braves in order and sent the Dodgers back to the World Series for the third time in four years.

Give Roberts credit for managing with his gut and letting his pitcher, who was rolling, stay in the game and finish off the Braves. In the past, Roberts has been criticized for “over-managing,” but Sunday night, he pushed all the right buttons. Dave Roberts said confidently, “This is our year,” on the podium after the win to Tom Verducci, who was covering the game for Fox.

This time the Dodgers are back in the Fall Classic after coming back from a 3-1 deficit against an excellent Atlanta team. They did so by showing a toughness past Dodgers’ teams didn’t have. Corey Seager was named the NLCS MVP after hitting five home runs, 11 RBI’s, and leading the Dodgers offensive attack for the majority of the series. Dodgers’ President of Baseball Operations, Andrew Friedman, will now face his old team, the Tampa Bay Rays, in the World Series. This just one storyline Franchise Sports Media will be covering during an already improbable MLB season.

 

“The only difference between a winning team and a losing team is one game. The winning team can win two out of three games…the losing team can only win one out of three.”
– Vin Scully

 

 

The Dodgers and Rays will now face off in the World Series. The Fall Classic starts Tuesday evening, with the first pitch scheduled for 4:30 pm PT. You can watch the game on Fox.

 

 

Tuesday, Oct. 20 – Game 1 – TB vs. LAD, 5 p.m., FOX

Wednesday, Oct. 21 – Game 2, TB vs. LAD, 5 p.m., FOX

Friday, Oct. 23 – Game 3, LAD vs. TB, 5 p.m., FOX

Saturday, Oct. 24 – Game 4, LAD vs. TB, 5 p.m., FOX

Sunday, Oct. 25* – Game 5, LAD vs. TB, 5 p.m., FOX

Tuesday, Oct. 27* – Game 6, TB vs. LAD, 5 p.m., FOX

Wednesday, Oct. 28* – Game 7, TB vs. LAD, 5 p.m., FOX

*If necessary

 

 

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Joe Arrigo

Twitter: JoeArrigo

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