Photo Credit: Los Angeles Dodgers
Whether it’s unthinkable pitching changes or players not performing in big spots, the Dodgers have typically beaten themselves in the most recent postseasons. That was not the case last night. The Atlanta Braves flat out beat the Dodgers, fair and square.
The Braves’ starting pitching, bullpen and late-inning offense were just better than the Dodgers in those same three categories. The good news is, it’s only one game and if the Dodgers perform like they’re supposed to, they should have no problem eventually winning this series.
Let’s take a deep dive, shall we?
Hey Offense, Where You At?
This Dodgers’ offense thrives on driving up pitch counts, drawing walks, crowding the bases and forcing the opponents’ pitchers into submission. Last night, they only scored one run, mustered just four hits and only drew four walks while striking out eleven times collectively.
Mookie Betts, Max Muncy, Will Smith, Cody Bellinger and Chris Taylor went a combined 0-for-17 with seven strikeouts in Game One. I don’t need to tell you that we’re in trouble if this continues for the next three games, but I believe these guys are too good to remain hitless for the entire series.
Aside from Kiké Hernandez’s solo homer off Max Fried in the fifth inning, the Dodgers created a very limited amount of scoring opportunities. Smith struck out with two men on in the bottom of the first and Betts flew out with two men aboard in the bottom of the second. Those were the only situations that the Dodgers had runners in scoring position all night.
We can complain all we want about some of the pitching change decisions or how things got out of hand in the ninth, but the truth is: one run per game isn’t going to cut it if you want to advance to the World Series. Just keep that in mind.
Bright Spots: Buehler, May, Graterol & Gonzalez
It’s evident Walker Buehler hasn’t had his best stuff so far this postseason and a lot of that can be attributed to his nagging blister on his pitching hand. In his three outings, his command has suffered greatly, walking 11 batters in 13 innings pitched. The remarkable thing is those walks have yet to come back to truly bite him. He has a playoff ERA this year of 2.77 and a batting average against of .170. Despite the five walks he surrendered last night, he only gave up one run in five innings.
Dustin May and Brusdar Graterol continue to shine in the postseason regardless of what inning or role they are used. They gassed the Braves with 100+ mph fastballs, struck out three, gave up one hit and no runs over 2.2 innings of combined work.
Last but not least, rookie reliever Victor Gonzalez was thrown into the fire last night and exited the game as the momentary hero for the Dodgers. Gonzalez faced Braves’ pinch-hitter (and former Dodger) Charlie Culberson with two outs and the bases loaded in the top of the eighth. After fouling off the first three pitches, Gonzalez got Culberson swinging on a beautiful slider that disappeared out of the zone to get out of the inning. I especially loved the emotion Gonzalez displayed coming off the mount after preserving the 1-1 tie.
TALK TO 'EM, VICTOR. pic.twitter.com/6KgzC5L6Ia
— Los Angeles Dodgers (@Dodgers) October 13, 2020
What Happened In The 9th Inning?
Dave Roberts called upon Blake Treinen for what felt like the 900th time this season to hold the 1-1 tie in the top of the ninth. The argument could be made that Roberts’ overuse of Treinen (he’s pitched in 5 out of the 6 postseason games this year) led to his meltdown last night, but honestly Treinen’s been one of the Dodgers’ best relievers and I don’t mind using him in that spot.
Of course, hindsight is 20/20 and now I wish Treinen was nowhere near the ninth inning as he promptly gave up an absolute bomb to the first batter he faced, Austin Riley. Then, he gives up a double to Ronald Acuña Jr., gets Freddie Freeman to fly out to dead center and caps it off with a Marcell Ozuna RBI-double. The Dodgers were down 3-to-1 before he was pulled.
Jake McGee, making his 2020 postseason debut, was brought in to stop the bleeding, but he only opened up another wound. After getting Travis d’Arnaud to pop up, he gives up a two-run tank to Ozzie Albies as the score ballooned to 5-to-1 and the game was all but out-of-reach.
The thing these two pitchers can improve upon is putting away hitters when they are ahead in the count. Of the four batters who recorded hits (including the two homers), both Treinen and McGee had 0-and-2 counts on every one of them. Bottom line: the execution needs to improve.
Final Thoughts
Clayton Kershaw was scratched prior to Game Two with back spasms and Tony Gonsolin will make his first appearance of the postseason tonight. Hopefully it’s nothing serious with Kershaw and he can return in this series, but remember there are no off-days so it’s a little difficult to give him the proper time he needs to heal. I’ve been advocating for Gonsolin to start games the entire season so I’m looking forward to see what he’s made of. I believe tonight is a must-win for the Dodgers and I’m hoping the offense wakes up and gives the “Cat Man” some run support.
Jake Reiner is a writer and reporter for Dodgers-LowDown and co-host of The Incline Podcast. Follow him on Twitter @QualityJakes.