The Los Angeles Dodgers never seemed to have much of an answer for Eddie Rosario, and that doomed them in a 4-2 elimination loss to the Atlanta Braves in Game 6 of the National League Championship Series.
With Max Scherzer unable to make his scheduled start because of lingering arm fatigue, Walker Buehler was pressed into duty on short rest for a second time this postseason.
It was a bumpy beginning for Buehler as the Braves made plenty of hard contact and took a lead in the first inning on back-to-back doubles with two outs by Ozzie Albies and Austin Riley.
Buehler continued to face some traffic but he kept the deficit at 1-0, which bought the Dodgers enough time to finally scratch against Ian Anderson.
AJ Pollock’s leadoff double in the third inning was the Dodgers’ first baserunner of the night, but it didn’t amount to anything. L.A. did manage to break through in the fourth when a Trea Turner walk was followed by Will Smith’s base hit.
The opportunity was nearly squandered but Cody Bellinger shortened his swing with two strikes and two outs to beat the shift with a game-tying RBI single.
The new life didn’t last long, however, as Buehler started a rally for the Braves by walking Travis d’Arnaud with two outs. An aggressive decision by Atlanta to pinch-hit for Anderson paid off in the form of an Ehire Adrianza double.
Rather than turn to a lefty to face Rosario — and potentially Freddie Freeman — Dodgers manager Dave Roberts stuck with Buehler. That backfired, though in large part due to pitch selection and location, as Buehler surrendered a three-run home run.
That gave Rosario 14 hits in the NLCS — the most by a Braves player in a single postseason series. It also tied an MLB postseason record for most in any LCS.
The Dodgers started a small comeback in the seventh inning when Luke Jackson gave up a leadoff double to Chris Taylor, walked Bellinger, and then allowed an RBI extra-base hit to Pollock.
That required Tyler Matzek to enter the game with tying runners in scoring position, and he proceeded to strike out Albert Pujols, Steven Souza Jr. and Mookie Betts.
Matzek retired the side in order in the eighth and was followed by Will Smith converting the save to put an end to the Dodgers’ season.
Dodgers hoped to get to Scherzer
Had the Dodgers extended their streak to eight wins in elimination games, there was optimism Scherzer would have been able to make the start with a trip to the World Series on the line.
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