Dodgers Say, ‘Not So fast,’ Beating the Braves to Survive Another Day

In front of a sold out crowd sans the presence of super fan Mary Hart, and Gavin Lux in the lineup, the Dodgers dusted off their humiliating loss to stave off elimination.

Chris Taylor, the guy responsible for his teammates donning uniforms late into October, launched a postseason record three home runs in a win or go home, showing Braves offensive man of the hour, Eddie Rosario, whatever you can do, I an do better.

It was an ominous start when Joe Kelly, the first of many bullpen bodies to take the mound, left the game with bicep tightness after surrendering a sneaky Ozzie Alibies single, followed by a two-run homer to Freddie Freeman, one batter shy of completing the inning.

Former Atlanta reliever Evan Phillips came to the rescue earlier than expected, striking out Adam Duvall, preventing any further damage.

Braves ace Max Fried, who looks like an older version of the boy who took me to the sixth grade prom, surrendered a lone single to Trea Turner in the bottom frame, hopefully a sign of good things to come for the slumping second baseman.

Evans returned for seconds in the top of the second, getting Joc Pederson on a pop up to center, fanning Dansby Swanson and Travis d’Arnaud looking and swinging at a series of nasty sliders – prompting Ron Darling to share through Braves skipper Brian Snitker, that the righty didn’t have that stuff when pitching for Atlanta.

In the bottom half leadoff batter A.J. Pollock took Fried’s 94 mph four-seamer into the left field seats. Albert Pujols proving he’s still got game, delivered a sharp single to left, and Taylor, hammered a first pitch fastball, much further in the same direction, 406 ft. to be exact, putting LA ahead, 3-2.

Alex Vesia and his porn mustache, reminiscent of Charlie Finley’s Oakland A’s, replaced Phillips. As Will Smith flashed a sequence of signs, my husband complained that he was getting mixed signals. Max Fried, a good hitting pitcher, was punched out on a called strike three. Rosario singled to center, Albies flied out to left and with Freddie Freeman and his scorched bat at the plate, Smith nailed Rosario trying to swipe second.

In the bottom of the third, we learned that Sandy Koufax was Fried’s favorite player, sharing not only their Jewish heritage, but also his number 32, that he wore in high school. Unable to channel his hero, the lanky lefty lost Pollock on a base hit to left, followed by Pujol’s single to right center, and Taylor’s RBI single up the middle.

With a 4-2 lead, Dodger reliever Brusdar Graterol, always appearing hopped up on Adderall, retired the side in order in the fourth, striking out Duvall on a 90 mph slider after three servings of 100 mph heat.

Fried answered back with his first 1,2,3 inning on milder in comparison pitches in the mid-90’s.

In the top of the fifth, Graterol used eight pitches to erase the side in order, getting Pederson swinging and looking at a cutter, sinker and slider.

Leading off the bottom frame, Smith drew a walk and was eliminated along with Pollock on a 643 double play. Pujols free pass on seven pitches ended Fried’s outing, bringing Chris Martin to the mound. On his third pitch, Taylor took his namesakes 95 mph four-seam fastball into the center field seats for two more ribbies, extending the Dodger lead 6-2, receiving another hug at the plate from Pujols.

Blake Treinen, a calmer version of Graterol, took care of business in the top of the sixth keeping the hot-hitting Rosario from cashing in on his double by getting Albies and Freeman to fly out to left.

Braves brought in Dylan Lee to stop the bleeding in bottom half, which he succeeded, allowing a sole single to the surging Turner, who for the first time in the NLCS, was sitting at 2-3.

It took Treinen six pitches to retire the Braves in order in the seventh. And in the bottom of the inning, it took Taylor the same amount to drive in his sixth run, with a solo blast to left center, his third, living up to his moniker, CT3.

Corey Knebel struck out the side in the top of the eighth after surrendering a lead off single to Swanson. Jacob Webb had the dubious honor of pitching to the Dodgers in the bottom half, and didn’t fare better than those who preceded. Betts was back to playing like Betts, singling and stealing second. Turner brought him home on his first RBI base hit of the NLCS. Seager singled to center and Pollock, playing second fiddle to Taylor, knocked in three more runs with his second homer on a 94 mph four-seamer.

Kenley Jansen closed it out, retiring the Braves heart of the order, in order, with his signature hip twitching pitching.

So, for the Dodgers it’s now on to Atlanta with a hopeful, let’s win there.