LDN - Sports

Braves hold off Dodgers, take 2-0 NLCS lead

[October 14, 2020] Freddie Freeman and Ozzie Albies each hit home runs for the second consecutive day and the Atlanta Braves held on for a 8-7 victory over the Los Angeles Dodgers on Tuesday to take a 2-0 lead in the National League Championship Series at Arlington, Texas.

Rookie right-hander Ian Anderson extended his postseason scoreless streak to 15 2/3 innings while the Braves jumped in front 6-0 with a four-run fifth inning when they sent nine batters to the plate. Atlanta moved two victories away from its first World Series appearance since 1999.

Game 3 is slated for Wednesday.

Trailing 7-0, the Dodgers got a three-run homer from Corey Seager in the bottom of the seventh. Down 8-3 heading to the bottom of the ninth, Los Angeles rallied within a run on an RBI double from Seager, a two-run home run from Max Muncy and an RBI triple from Cody Bellinger, but AJ Pollock grounded out to third base against closer Mark Melancon to end it.

"This is a good ballclub we're playing, and they're explosive, as we saw," Braves manager Brian Snitker said. "I didn't feel good with a big lead because these guys are too powerful.

"That is a good ballgame to win. They all are now. We kind of shot ourselves in the foot there at the end, and Melancon did a great job coming in."

The Braves tagged Dodgers replacement starter Tony Gonsolin with five runs in 4 1/3 innings, even though they didn't get their first hit until Freeman's two-run home run in the fourth inning.

The Dodgers' move to Gonsolin came after left-hander Clayton Kershaw was scratched earlier Tuesday due to back spasms. Los Angeles manager Dave Roberts believes Kershaw can return later in the series, but the Braves could have things decided by then.

Anderson allowed just one hit and struck out five in four scoreless innings Tuesday, but his outing was cut short after he gave up five walks and threw 85 pitches. Left-hander Tyler Matzek (1-0) pitched two scoreless innings to earn the victory.

Anderson said, "The coaching staff does such a good job of keeping you in the moment and giving you the information you need at that time. Then it's up to executing. We had a good game plan, and in the playoffs you have to keep your opponent from scoring and we were able to do that."

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Braves starting pitcher Ian Anderson (48) pitches during the first inning against the Los Angeles Dodgers in game two of the 2020 NLCS at Globe Life Field. Mandatory Credit: Kevin Jairaj-USA TODAY Sports

Rookie outfielder Cristian Pache, who was getting a start after Adam Duvall was removed from the NLCS roster because of an oblique injury, gave the Braves a 3-0 led with a fifth-inning RBI double. After a walk to Ronald Acuna, Gonsolin (0-1) was removed from his first career playoff appearance.

Freeman greeted right-hander Pedro Baez with an RBI single for a 4-0 lead. Two batters later, Travis d'Arnaud walked with the bases loaded to make it 5-0. An Albies sacrifice fly added the fourth run of the inning.

Dansby Swanson made it 7-0 in the seventh inning with an RBI double off Dodgers left-hander Alex Wood.

After scoring one run in Game 1, the Dodgers' offense was stymied again until the seventh, when Seager belted his second homer of the postseason.

Albies' home run came in the ninth inning against Dodgers left-hander Adam Kolarek.

Melancon saw Will Smith reach base on an Albies error and gave up Bellinger's RBI triple, but he got Pollock for his second save of the postseason.

Seager said, "This team has a lot of fight and we've done it all year. We were one swing, one anything away from tying that ballgame and going into extras. It's never over until it's over. This is a long series and we are looking (forward) to the challenge."

Dodgers manager Dave Roberts said, "I think it's just one game at a time and I know it sounds cliche, but that's the only way to do it and to approach it. I think us showing life late was good to see. Early on we created some traffic and couldn't get that one, two big hits and they did. But to see us fighting, that was a good thing."

--Field Level Media

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