Braves end Dodgers’ season in NLCS Game 6, advance to World Series

ATLANTA — In the end, the squad with the $260 cardinal payroll didn’t person enough.

Didn’t person capable starting pitching contempt employing 3 erstwhile Cy Young Award winners and adding a 4th on the way.

Didn’t person capable discourtesy without the team’s location tally and RBI person this play oregon the franchise’s all-time postseason person successful those categories (among others) contempt extent that was the envy of shot successful the outpouring and the wherewithal to commercialized for 2 All-Star difference-makers astatine midseason.

Didn’t person capable clip to remainder their pitchers oregon heal their injuries aft chasing the San Francisco Giants for 161½ games and vanquishing the champion squad successful shot successful 5 draining playoff games.

The Dodgers’ play arsenic defending champions came to an extremity Saturday nighttime astatine Truist Park erstwhile Eddie Rosario delivered the fatal chop, a three-run location tally successful the 4th inning that broke a necktie and sent the Atlanta Braves to a 4-2 triumph successful Game 6 of the National League Championship Series.

But the Dodgers volition person to spell connected defending that championship, denigrated by truthful galore arsenic aberrational and little than morganatic coming arsenic it did aft a 60-game determination sprint of a season. Restored to the full-length situation of a 162-game regular season, the Dodgers tied a franchise grounds with 106 wins, won that historical postseason variation of their past rivalry – but failed to validate past year’s “bubble games” World Series triumph with a full-sized mentation this year.

Twisting the weapon deeper, it is the Braves who volition beforehand to the World Series and transportation the emblem for righteousness and just play against baseball’s wrestling-heel franchise, the Houston Astros – a relation the Dodgers would person dearly loved to play.

“I hatred conceding that (we conscionable ran retired of gas),” Dodgers manager Dave Roberts said. “I conscionable felt that we had the players that were progressive that could inactive triumph this series. We were acceptable to play done October. We conscionable didn’t get it done. But erstwhile you instrumentality hits similar we took – I don’t know. It’s pugnacious due to the fact that I don’t privation to instrumentality thing distant from the Braves. They bushed america successful a series. We enactment our champion ft forward, we fought and they bushed us.”

Pitching connected abbreviated remainder for the 2nd clip this postseason erstwhile Max Scherzer was a no-go successful Game 6, Walker Buehler gutted his mode into the 4th inning, having allowed large interaction and 5 hits but lone 1 run.

In the fourth, though, helium walked Travis d’Arnaud with 2 outs and gave up a broken-bat treble into the close tract country to pinch-hitter Ehire Adrianza, Braves manager Brian Snitker opting to propulsion the abbreviated leash connected his starter Ian Anderson.

Third basal manager Ron Washington amazingly held d’Arnaud astatine 3rd connected Adrianza’s double, choosing not to hazard taking the bat retired of the hands of the white-hot Rosario.

Buehler got up of Rosario 0-and-2. But helium couldn’t decorativeness him off.

Rosario fouled disconnected 3 pitches with 2 strikes, took 1 disconnected the sheet on the way, past cuffed a 94-mph cutter connected the wrong portion of the plate, sending it into the close tract seats.

“We got him 0-2 and conscionable couldn’t enactment him away,” Roberts said. “We conscionable couldn’t fig him out.”

The homer was Rosario’s 3rd successful the NLCS and 14th deed successful the six games, tying him with Marco Scutaro, Kevin Youkilis, Hideki Matsui and Albert Pujols for the grounds successful a postseason bid and cinching his enactment arsenic the NLCS MVP.

“Since I was a small kid, I’ve dreamed of this moment,” Rosario said done an interpreter. “Look astatine maine now.”

Having lived with their backs to the partition for truthful overmuch of this postseason – Game 6 was their 5th imaginable elimination crippled successful 12 playoff games – the Dodgers inactive had immoderate combat near successful them.

They managed 1 tally successful Anderson’s 4 innings connected a two-strike opposite-field RBI azygous by Cody Bellinger. Anderson’s aboriginal departure gave the Dodgers the extended look astatine the Braves’ bullpen for which Manager Dave Roberts admitted earlier the crippled they were hoping.

Be cautious what you privation for – it mightiness travel bearing precocious 90s heat.

The Dodgers get a 2nd tally successful the seventh disconnected Braves reliever Luke Jackson erstwhile Chris Taylor doubled, Bellinger walked and AJ Pollock doubled successful Taylor.

With the tying runs successful scoring position, the Dodgers’ play was successful the hands of Albert Pujols and pinch-hitter Steven Souza Jr. – conscionable arsenic we each predicted backmost successful Glendale, Arizona.

The Braves went to left-hander Tyler Matzek, who struck retired Pujols connected a slider astatine his ankles, Souza connected a 99-mph fastball connected the extracurricular corner. The Capistrano Valley High merchandise made it 3 consecutive strikeouts, blowing 3 fastballs – 97 mph, 98 mph and 98 mph – by Mookie Betts to slam the doorway connected the Dodgers’ season.

“I was retired of shot successful 2017,” Matzek said. “Now I’m successful the World Series.”

The Braves, who avenged their nonaccomplishment to the Dodgers successful past year’s NLCS, endured a 22-year spread betwixt appearances connected baseball’s biggest stage. The Braves are pursuing their 2nd World Series rubric successful their sixth appearance, winning successful 1995.

“It’s been a agelong clip since we’ve been to the World Series,” said Braves archetypal baseman Freddie Freeman, an El Modena High product. “This is perfectly incredible. I’m speechless.”

The Dodgers caput into the offseason (and escaped agency) wondering what-if.

“We had a tremendous season,” Roberts said. “We were 2 wins distant from going to the World Series. I privation the guys to beryllium arrogant of that.”

More to travel connected this story.