Dodgers lose to Braves on another walk-off single, trail NLCS 2-0

ATLANTA — A batch of worldly happened. And then, successful the ninth inning …

For the 4th clip successful their archetypal 8 games this postseason (and 3rd successful a row), the Dodgers went into the ninth inning successful a necktie game. And for the 2nd clip successful this National League Championship Series, the Atlanta Braves scored successful the ninth to locomotion disconnected with a 5-4 triumph successful Game 2 connected Sunday night.

The Braves rallied from 2 runs down successful the eighth, erasing a Dodger pb for the 3rd clip successful this series. The Dodgers instrumentality to Los Angeles down 2-0 successful the best-of-seven NLCS with their lone rested starting pitcher – Walker Buehler – lined up to commencement (well, we assume) Game 3 connected Tuesday day astatine Dodger Stadium.

Buehler is the past rested starting pitcher connected the Dodgers’ roster due to the fact that some Max Scherzer and Julio Urias pitched successful Game 2 – and some fto two-run leads get away.

The Dodgers handed Scherzer a 2-0 pb earlier helium ever took the mound Sunday. Mookie Betts led disconnected the crippled with a azygous and Corey Seager homered connected the archetypal transportation helium saw from Braves starter Ian Anderson.

But the Seager homer was not a motion of things to come. Instead, the Dodgers slipped backmost into the violative struggles that person characterized their postseason. They had scored 2 runs oregon less successful 4 of their erstwhile six games this postseason.

The Dodgers had conscionable 1 deed – Will Smith’s third-inning azygous – successful the 30 batters aft Seager’s location run. But they inactive managed to enactment the leadoff antheral connected basal 5 times successful the archetypal 7 innings and make scoring opportunities acknowledgment to 9 walks issued by Braves pitchers.

They created the scoring opportunities. They conscionable didn’t instrumentality vantage of them.

They enactment 2 runners connected with 1 retired successful the 3rd inning and 2 connected with 2 outs successful the fifth. None scored. In the sixth, Chris Taylor – the baserunning goat of Game 1 –drew a leadoff walk, stole 2nd and precocious to 3rd connected a flyout by Cody Bellinger.

He had an fantabulous vantage constituent from determination arsenic AJ Pollock and Albert Pujols struck retired to strand him.

With Pujols’ strikeout successful the sixth, they were hitless successful 7 at-bats with runners successful scoring presumption successful Game 2, 1 for 15 successful the NLCS, 4 for 40 since Game 2 of the NL Division Series (their 9-2 breakout against the Giants) and …. it gets amended … 12 for 65 (.188) since the postseason started.

Back successful August and astir of September, a 2-0 pb successful Scherzer’s hands would person been a T-bill conscionable waiting to beryllium cashed in.

October Scherzer has not been the aforesaid Scher thing.

Pitching for the 4th clip successful the Dodgers’ archetypal 8 postseason games (over a 12-day span), Scherzer labored into the 5th inning, surrendering a two-run location tally to Joc Pederson successful the 4th to necktie the score.

The 452-foot weaponry disconnected a Scherzer curveball near Pederson’s bat astatine 112.2 mph, the third-hardest deed shot Scherzer has allowed since Statcast began tracking specified details successful 2015. When Scherzer’s velocity began dropping successful the fifth, Dodgers manager Dave Roberts pulled him aft 13 outs – arsenic acold arsenic helium got successful the wild-card crippled arsenic well.

The Dodgers built different two-run pb successful a seventh inning that featured conscionable 1 shot enactment successful play. Two walks, 2 strikeouts and a deed batter (Justin Turner coming disconnected the seat for his specialty) preceded Taylor’s brushed liner into halfway tract that Guillermo Heredia overran. Two runs scored connected the play.

After Blake Treinen protected the pb successful the seventh inning, Roberts flipped to a leafage from the 2020 postseason publication and brought Urias successful to look the left-handed apical of the Braves’ order.

Pitching strategies go outdated arsenic accelerated arsenic your iPhone these days and Urias gave up hits to 3 of the archetypal 4 batters helium faced including an RBI azygous by Ozzie Albies and a game-tying RBI treble by Atlanta’s Game 1 hero, Austin Riley.

When the Dodgers didn’t people successful the apical of the ninth – contempt a alert shot to the left-field partition by Trea Turner – Roberts sent Brusdar Graterol retired for the ninth. A broken-bat azygous by Travis d’Arnaud started the game-winning rally that ended erstwhile Kenley Jansen came successful and Rosario lined a shot done the mediate disconnected Seager’s mitt and into halfway field.

More to travel connected this story.