3 years ago
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If determination was a infinitesimal Sunday nighttime that reminded america that this isn’t past year, it was the renewal of the Will Smith vs. Will Smith rivalry successful the ninth inning successful suburban Atlanta.
Will The Elder gave up a memorable location tally to Will The Younger during the 2020 Dodgers-Braves National League Championship Series. When they faced each different Sunday night, Will the Younger struck retired swinging connected a slider for the 2nd retired of the ninth inning.
One vignette, true. But possibly here’s another: Julio Urías, the Dodgers’ accidental but oh, truthful palmy person of 2020, came into the crippled to commencement the eighth inning Sunday nighttime with a 4-2 pb – and gave up 3 hits and the tying runs, lone escaping further harm by striking retired Joc Pederson and pinch-hitter Ehire Adrianza to strand the go-ahead tally connected 2nd base.
Dodgers manager Dave Roberts told reporters aft the crippled that helium considered Urías his champion enactment astatine that point, adjacent aft Blake Treinen needed conscionable 9 pitches to get done the seventh.
“We talked astir it earlier the series, and helium was disposable (Saturday) nighttime if it came to the situation, but it didn’t,” Roberts said. “He hadn’t thrown a bullpen and helium was the champion enactment astatine that constituent successful time. He was prepared for it.”
Not lone did Urías struggle, but those 14 pitches mightiness person compromised him for his scheduled commencement connected Wednesday successful Game 4. Max Scherzer, with 2 days of remainder aft his 13-pitch prevention of Game 5 connected Thursday nighttime successful San Francisco, made it done 79 pitches and, somewhat uncharacteristically but perfectly candidly, acknowledged to Roberts that helium was spent.
Somehow, the thought of “five and dive, and beryllium acceptable to propulsion a high-stress inning retired of the bullpen successful a mates of days” mightiness not beryllium a sustainable strategy. Atlanta’s Brian Snitker hasn’t seen the request to usage immoderate of his starters successful alleviation yet, but helium utilized each 1 of his relievers past nighttime and has utilized Tyler Matzek, Luke Jackson and Smith (The Elder) each of the archetypal 2 games. And, dissimilar past year, determination are days disconnected successful this series.
One much reminder that it’s different? Joctober inactive exists, lone present it’s dreaded alternatively of welcomed successful the Dodgers’ dugout. Joc Pederson wiped retired the Dodgers’ archetypal pb with a two-run location tally successful the 4th – specifically, a booming, 454-foot thrust disconnected Scherzer. As this bid goes on, Pederson – nary longer conscionable a platoon subordinate – has to beryllium reckoned with.
There is this thought, which could beryllium comforting if you inactive clasp onto memories of 2020: The Braves were up 2-0 successful past year’s series. They’re up 2-0 successful this bid aft Eddie Rosario’s changeable up the mediate and nether Corey Seager’s mitt drove successful the winning run, connected Kenley Jansen’s archetypal and lone transportation of the crippled successful the ninth inning, for a 5-4 Atlanta victory.
But bash you truly privation to person to tally the elimination crippled gamut again? No substance however battle-tested you mightiness be, erstwhile you rotation those dice excessively often you’ll suffer astatine immoderate point.
And here’s the biggest difference, truthful far, betwixt this twelvemonth and past year: Those Dodgers were noted for scoring runs with 2 outs: 59 done 19 postseason games. That’s the motion of a squad susceptible of cashing successful opportunities and adjusting arsenic indispensable to get it done.
These Dodgers are hitting nether .200 with runners successful scoring presumption done 8 games this postseason: 13 for 68, oregon .191. They were 1 for 10 Sunday night. The 1 was Chris Taylor’s two-run treble successful the seventh, a sinking liner that halfway fielder Guillermo Heredia – who had entered the crippled that inning – couldn’t get to and past overran, seemingly unsure whether to effort to dive oregon to short-hop it.
Otherwise? They near 10 men connected base. They had men connected archetypal and 2nd with 1 retired successful the third, but Gavin Lux popped up and Taylor struck out. They had archetypal and 2nd with 2 outs successful the fifth, aft Mookie Betts walked and stole 2nd and Smith (the Younger) was intentionally walked with 2 outs, and Lux flied to left.
They got Taylor to 3rd with 1 retired successful the sixth, and AJ Pollock and pinch-hitter Albert Pujols struck out. They re-loaded the bases aft Taylor’s deed successful the seventh, and Pollock struck out. And Trea Turner deed the archetypal transportation from Smith (The Elder) to the partition successful near field, but Rosario ran it down.
It’s a occupation we’ve seen each season, and present it’s recurring astatine the worst imaginable time. And yes, the attack has been an issue.
“It’s an attack thing,” Roberts said. “I deliberation that definite times successful scoring position, we’re expanding (the onslaught zone) excessively much.”
But here’s the biggest quality from 2020 (besides, of course, the information that the halfway of this radical present knows what it’s similar to triumph a championship): They’re going to beryllium playing the mediate games astatine home, wherever they were 58-23 during the regular play and are 2-1 truthful acold successful the postseason.
And if ever they needed the other propulsion from a spirited location crowd, it’s now.
jalexander@scng.com
@Jim_Alexander connected Twitter
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