How a Braves decision late in Game 2 helped fuel Dodgers in NLCS Game 3 blowout
A quick history lesson from 2015 before diving into the history the Los Angeles Dodgers made Wednesday evening at Globe Life Field:
About a week after the Texas Rangers acquired Cole Hamels at the trade deadline, they were in Seattle and tied with the Mariners at 3-all.
Shawn Tolleson wiggled out of a bases-loaded jam in the 10th inning, throwing 26 pitches, and the Rangers broke through in the 11th by scoring eight runs.
Available in the bullpen was Luke Jackson in what felt like a perfect scenario for a rookie to make his MLB debut and save some of the closer’s bullets. Instead, Tolleson returned for the 11th to protect an eight-run lead.
After the decision was questioned after the game, manager Jeff Banister lectured the media the next day on the decision to keep Tolleson in the game and allow him to throw 48 pitches.
The answer: The Rangers didn’t want to let Mariners hitters build momentum for the series finale the next day. (The Rangers lost anyway, 4-2.)
That was relevant in Game 3 of the National League Championship Series, when the Dodgers scored 11 runs in the first inning, an all-time MLB postseason single-inning record, en route to an easy 15-3 victory.
The onslaught was an extension of the Dodgers’ four-run ninth inning in Game 2 that fell a run short of tying the score but breathed new life into the Dodgers’ bats.
Three of the runs in a non-save situation came against Josh Tomlin, who is not the Braves’ closer. Mark Melancon is.
The Braves’ decision to not use Melancon from the outset with an 8-3 lead in a postseason game, giving the Dodgers something to latch onto after losing the first two games, might have turned the series in the Dodgers’ favor.
“I do think last night’s ninth bled over into tonight,” manager Dave Roberts said. “After that first inning we stayed focused and played good baseball.”
Seven of the 11 runs came against rookie starter Mark Wright, who had recorded two outs and allowed only one run before the wheels came off. The next five Dodgers reached against Wright, a stretch that included a three-run homer by Joc Pederson, and the first four against Grant Dayton also reached.
The fourth was Max Muncy, the Keller High graduate, who launched a grand slam to cap the massive inning. Muncy said that Pederson was the offensive star after he collected four hits, tying an NLCS record.
Corey Seager bagged three hits with a home run.
“We were struggling to get going, and last night toward the end of the game we started to find our stride,” said Muncy, who played in college at Baylor. “The biggest thing for us was to try to carry that over to the beginning of this game, and we were able to do that.”
The good news for the Braves is they still lead the best-of-7 series, 2-1, and are 7-1 this postseason. The Dodgers are planning to start left-hander Clayton Kershaw, if his back allows it.
The series lead and the uncertainty in the Dodgers’ rotation are silver linings the Braves can take into Thursday, along with getting some regulars off their feet early in a series in which there are no days off.
And, hey, they didn’t have to use Melancon.
“Quite honestly, we’re in better shape than if we had grinded out a 7-5 loss,” Braves manager Brian Snitker said. “We’re still in a good spot with four games left.”
The Dodgers, though, essentially did the same, possibly because they wore themselves out in the first inning.
Momentum was on their side, and it could be again in Game 4.
“We’re going to come out tomorrow and try to put a good effort forward,” Seager said.
This story was originally published October 15, 2020 at 12:19 AM.
