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By Rowan Kavner
On their road to a championship last season, the Dodgers constantly took advantage when chances arose. Their offense, a relentless machine with two outs, knocked in twice as many runs as any playoff team with runners in scoring position. This year, a ninth-inning rally sent them to the National League Championship Series, but the opportunistic offense was in the home dugout Saturday night in Atlanta.
Through eight innings of Game 1, the Braves’ only runner in scoring position scored on a wild pitch. Their second runner in scoring position ended the game. Ozzie Albies stole second base on Blake Treinen in the ninth inning and came home on an Austin Riley walk-off single in a 3–2 defeat to start the series.
“We prevented runs all night,” said manager Dave Roberts. “We didn’t not win the game because we didn’t prevent runs. We just didn’t get the hits when we needed.”
A winner-take-all Game 5 in San Francisco finished off by Max Scherzer changed the Dodgers’ plans for the start to the NLCS two days later. Instead of starting Scherzer again on one day of rest, the Dodgers went with Corey Knebel as an opener for a second straight game. That decision would allow Scherzer, Walker Buehler and Julio Urías to start the subsequent games more well-rested.
A wave of Dodger relievers did their jobs Saturday in a matchup against Braves ace Max Fried, who was 8–2 with a 1.74 ERA the second half of the season. By the time Fried left the contest after six innings, the game was tied at 2.
It could have easily tipped further in favor of the Dodgers, who outhit the Braves 10–6 on the night but finished 1-for-8 with runners in scoring position. That lone hit occurred on a game-tying, two-out RBI single from Chris Taylor in the second inning. Both teams also brought home a run via solo homers in the fourth inning. Will Smith took Fried deep for his fifth extra-base hit of the postseason before Riley answered in the bottom of the frame off Tony Gonsolin.
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Gonsolin entered with a lead after Phil Bickford and Justin Bruihl retired all seven combined batters they faced. Gonsolin was available to pitch the bulk of the innings Saturday, but it became more of a traditional bullpen game after hard contact limited him to 28 pitches in 1 2/3 innings. Still, the Riley homer was the lone damage against him.
The Dodgers just couldn’t scratch anything else across.
Gonsolin started the fifth inning with an infield single but was erased on a double play. Trea Turner, who lamented not being aggressive enough early this postseason, followed with a single and took second base. He was left stranded on an inning-ending strikeout.
“I thought considering the stuff that Fried had out there, get him out after six, I thought we took good at-bats against him,” Roberts said. “We just could put enough runs across.”
The Dodgers left a runner in scoring position in the fifth, sixth and seventh innings. Each of those innings began with a base hit. The Dodgers had a runner on second base with one out in both the sixth and seventh innings, but neither reached home plate.
Immediately after Fried’s departure, Taylor began the seventh inning with a double over the outstretched arm of All-Star first baseman Freddie Freeman, who struck out four times in the Braves’ win. A sacrifice bunt from Austin Barnes got Taylor to third, but a Mookie Betts popout and Turner strikeout followed.
“It was one of those games, we squandered a couple opportunities, and they took advantage,” Taylor said.
Taylor’s last chance to impact the outcome arrived in the ninth inning. His two-out walk set up NLDS hero Cody Bellinger to potentially come through late again.
Facing a lefty in Will Smith, Bellinger singled to right field. Taylor rounded second heading for third as Joc Pederson fielded the ball. But he pumped the brakes. Pederson threw behind Taylor, who got caught in a rundown and tagged out to end the threat.
“It was just a bad read,” Taylor said. “I saw it barely got over Albies’ head and thought I could get to third and didn’t realize Joc had it that quick and tried to stop. I should’ve kept going.”
The Dodgers were still alive to that point after scoreless innings from Alex Vesia, Joe Kelly and Kenley Jansen. The Dodgers called on Treinen in the ninth. A bloop one-out single landed in from Albies, who then stole second base. The Dodgers elected to pitch to Riley, who delivered a single off a Treinen slider to end it.
Opponents this season had a .074 batting average against Treinen’s slider. But it wasn’t pitching that led to the early series deficit.
“We threw out some hits,” Roberts said. “We just couldn’t get the hit when we needed.”
Dodgers can’t overcome missed chances in NLCS Game 1 loss was originally published in Dodger Insider on Medium, where people are continuing the conversation by highlighting and responding to this story.