Braves earn second straight walk-off win over Dodgers
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[October 18, 2021]
EditorsNote: Updates with quotes
The Los Angeles Dodgers haven't figured out a way to stop the
Atlanta Braves in the bottom of the ninth inning through two games
of the National League Championship Series.
So the defending champs will do the next best thing -- take last
licks themselves over the next two or three games.
Eddie Rosario lined Kenley Jansen's first pitch off the glove of
shortstop Corey Seager and into center field for a walk-off single
Sunday night, scoring Dansby Swanson as the host Braves worked their
ninth-inning magic for a second consecutive game in a 5-4 victory
over the Dodgers in Game 2 of the NLCS.
"We've got fight," said Braves outfielder Joc Pedersen, whose home
run erased one of Atlanta's two two-run deficits in the game. "You
can't teach it. You can't buy it."
Rosario finished with four hits and Austin Riley added an RBI double
as the Braves completed a two-game home sweep of the defending World
Series champs in two games that were tied headed into the ninth.
In this one, Travis d'Arnaud led off the home half of the final
inning against Brusdar Graterol (0-1) with a bloop single. After he
was forced out at second on a Swanson bunt attempt, the Braves
advanced the potential winning run into scoring position on a
Guillermo Heredia infield out before Jansen entered the game and
Rosario ended it.
"That's the moment. I love it," Rosario gushed moments after his
hero's greeting between first and second base. "I'm here to help the
guys win the World Series. Everybody's here for one dream."
After calling upon two of his top starting pitchers and watching his
batters go 1-for-10 with runners in scoring position, Dodgers
manager Dave Roberts was asked if he thought the wear-and-tear of an
uphill battle throughout the regular season and in the NL Division
Series against the San Francisco Giants was taking its toll.
"I don't. Our guys are prepared to play until October," he insisted.
"They've had two big innings to take the lead. The series could
easily be flipped."
The best-of-seven series moves to Los Angeles for the next two games
and a third if necessary. The Dodgers also trailed the Braves 2-0 in
last year's NLCS before winning four of the next five to advance to
the World Series, with all of those games played at a neutral site
in Arlington, Texas.
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![](../images/101821PIX/sports1.jpg)
Atlanta Braves relief pitcher A.J. Minter (33) reacts to an out
against Los Angeles Dodgers center fielder Gavin Lux (9) during the
fifth inning in game two of the 2021 NLCS at Truist Park. Mandatory
Credit: Brett Davis-USA TODAY Sports
![](../images/ads/current/graue_lda_2021.gif)
Having blown a one-run lead well before Riley's
game-ending single in Game 1, the Dodgers were six outs from drawing
even Sunday when they put the ball in the hands of 20-game winner
Julio Urias with a 4-2 lead entering the last of the eighth. But the
Braves rallied, getting within one on Ozzie Albies' RBI single
before squaring the game when Riley doubled off the fence in center
field, scoring Albies.
"That's absolutely huge to continue to build the momentum, build the
momentum," Riley said of going up 2-0 before heading west, where the
Braves were swept in a three-game series this summer. "(Dodger
Stadium) is a tough atmosphere. I feel it's going to be a tough
challenge and I look forward to it."
Los Angeles also blew a two-run lead after its second batter of the
game, Seager, followed a Mookie Betts single with a two-run home run
off Atlanta starter Ian Anderson.
Pederson, a former Dodger, got his new club even in the fourth with
his two-run shot against Los Angeles starter Max Scherzer.
The Dodgers took their last lead on another two-run hit, this one a
bases-loaded, two-out double by Chris Taylor in the seventh for a
4-2 advantage.
Both starting pitchers exited early. Anderson lasted just three
innings, charged with two runs on three hits with two strikeouts and
three walks. Scherzer wasn't around much longer, going 4 1/3
innings, during which he allowed two runs and four hits. He walked
one and struck out seven.
Rosario's hit total equaled that of the Dodgers, who were limited to
a homer, a double and two singles by eight Atlanta pitchers,
including Will Smith (2-0), who was credited with the win after
pitching a 1-2-3 top of the ninth.
The Dodgers, who failed to take advantage of nine walks, now have
their backs against the wall.
"Both teams are in the same situation," Roberts claimed afterward,
"outside of the most important factor -- that they have a
two-to-nothing lead."
--Field Level Media
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