*Photo from The Athletic*
Atlanta leads series 3-1
Fresh off being routed 15-3, the Atlanta Braves were looking to respond in game 4. Boy, did they ever. Bryse Wilson starred in his first playoff start, Marcell Ozuna homered twice, and the Braves mashed past the Los Angeles Dodgers by a 10-2 score, taking a 3-1 series lead and putting the Dodgers one loss away from elimination. The Dodgers lineup, fresh off scoring 15 runs in 3 innings in game 3, were only able to manage one hit in the first 6 innings.
The Dodgers started the scoring in the 3rd inning, when Edwin Rios hit a solo homer, making it 1-0 Dodgers. In the 4th, Ozuna tied it up for the Braves with a solo homer, making it a 1-1 game. In the 6th inning, Freddie Freeman and Marcell Ozuna hit RBI doubles, Dansby Swanson hit a two run double, and Austin Riley and Cristian Pache hit RBI singles to make it a 7-1 Braves lead. In the 7th, Rios hit a sac fly and Ozuna hit a solo homer, making it an 8-2 game. In the 8th, Freeman and Ozuna hit RBI singles to make it 10-2.
Wilson got the win for the Braves in his first playoff start, dominating the powerful Dodgers lineup. Wilson threw 6 innings, allowing one run on one hit and one walk, striking out 5 hitters. After Wilson left, Will Smith and Chris Martin combined to finish the 7th inning. Tyler Matzek then came on for the 8th, and Shane Greene slammed the door in the 9th to secure the win.
Wilson was seemingly in awe of his own work after the game, saying that "I think, for me, it just re-establishes that I need to trust my stuff and my stuff is good, I need to continue to trust that and stop being afraid of what is going to happen after I throw the pitch."
Martin was also impressed by Wilson's performance in the big moment, saying that "He did a heck of a job, he went out there and competed. He wasn’t fazed with the situation. I honestly don’t think he was too fazed he was facing Kershaw. He did an awesome job. It was a lot of fun to watch."
Clayton Kershaw started the game, and took the loss for the Dodgers. Kershaw allowed 4 runs on 7 hits and one walk, striking out 4. Kershaw didn't get an out in the 6th inning, leaving Brusdar Graterol and Victor Gonzalez to finish off that inning. Dylan Floro and Jake McGee pitched after that for the Dodgers.
Dodgers manager Dave Roberts addressed the Braves pitching after the game, saying that "They’ve pitched really well, you've got to give those guys credit. Wilson made pitches when he needed to. When we did hit balls hard, we just didn’t find any luck, but that’s baseball. It’s a crossfire and he did a nice job working the inside and outside part of the plate to both hitters, and we just couldn’t square him up consistently enough."
Kershaw seemingly compared the Braves lineup to the Dodgers lineup after the game. Kershaw said that "They’re similar to us as far as they build on momentum really well, it just seems like they have that domino effect when one thing gets going, and they’ve got great hitters, too. They’re a good team. We’ve just got to come back and win tomorrow."
The series continues on Friday, where Dustin May starts for the Dodgers as they look to force a game 6. Braves manager Brian Snitker hasn't announced a starter yet, though game 3 starter Kyle Wright is an option to go, as he only threw 28 pitches in his outing.
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