Atlanta Braves 8, Los Angeles Dodgers 7
The Braves had just taken a lead in the series. They were looking to extend that lead with a win tonight. The Braves had RHP Ian Anderson pitching for them. The rookie had a 1.95 ERA in 2020. Anderson had pitched 11 2/3 innings in the Postseason and allowed 0 runs. As for the Dodgers they were planning to start LHP Clayton Kershaw but due to back spasms they had to start RHP Tony Gonsolin. Gonsolin had a 2.31 ERA in 2020. It was his first Postseason start. The Braves offense started with a 2 run homer by MVP candidate Freddie Freeman in the top of the 4th. Freeman also hit a homer in Game 1. Then in the top of the 5th Braves top prospect Cristian Pache got and RBI double down the left field line. This was Pache’s first Major League RBI and his first Postseason hit. Freddie Freeman singled to bring Pache home making it a 4-0 game. Then with bases loaded Travis d’Arnaud drew a walk to make it 5-0. After that Ozzie Albies hit a sacrifice fly to score Freddie Freeman. In total the Braves scored 4 runs in the 5th. Then in the top of the seventh the Braves scored again on a RBI double by Dansby Swanson. The Braves now had what looked to be a comfortable lead up 7-0. But the Dodgers kept fighting. The Dodgers got their first runs on the board with a 3 run homer by Cory Seager in the bottom of the 7th. Now it was only a 4 run game. In the top of the 9th Ozzie Albies hit a solo home run to extend the Braves lead to 5. Albies had hit a 2 run homer in Game 1. In the Bottom of the 9th the Dodgers started inching their way back into the game. Josh Tomlin was pitching for the Braves to try and close out the game. The Braves were up 5 and all Tomlin needed to do was get 3 more outs. He had some trouble doing that. After getting the 1st out Tomlin allowed an RBI double by Cory Seager. Now it was a 4 run game. Then after getting the second out Tomlin allowed a 2 run homer by Max Muncy. After this the Braves decided to pull Josh Tomlin and put in Mark Melancon. Will Smith hit a ground ball to second base that looked like it was going to end the game but Albies bobbled it and Smith was safe at first. Former NL MVP Cody Bellinger was up. A 2 run homer would tie the game. Bellinger hit a triple to right field scoring Smith and making it a 8-7 game. Bellinger was on third with 2 outs and a one run game. AJ Pollock was up. A single would tie it. Pollock hit a hard ground ball to third baseman Austin Riley who fielded the ball and threw to first in time to end the game. It was a lot closer then it had to be but the Braves still ended up on top with a 8-7 win. They now lead in the series 2-0. Thank you for stopping by. If you would like to hear more from Sports Talk with Solomon follow my stream as I will be updating after every major game or event. Thank you.