The Los Angeles Dodgers failed to replicate their success against another Atlanta Braves rookie starter and that cost them in a 10-2 loss in Game 4 of the National League Championship Series. The Dodgers now will head into play Friday needing a win to avoid being eliminated.
Bryse Wilson gave the Braves everything they could have hoped for and more, holding the Dodgers to just one run and one hit through six innings. There were times Wilson benefitted from a pitcher-friendly setting at Globe Life Field coupled with howling wind that knocked down fly balls.
It couldn’t contain a laser off the bat of Edwin Rios, who broke a scoreless tie in the third inning with his second solo home run in as many games. Wilson had the elements on his side in the fourth when Joc Pederson followed Max Muncy’s two-out walk with a 411-foot fly out to center field.
That loomed large as Marcell Ozuna took Kershaw deep in the bottom half of the inning to tie the game. It remained that way until a chopper over Kershaw’s head resulted in a leadoff single for Ronald Acuña Jr.
He tripped over the bag and appeared to injure his wrist but remained in the game. Kiké Hernandez’s barehanded effort resulted in a throwing error that put Acuña on second base. Freddie Freeman’s RBI double broke the tie and opened the floodgates.
Ozuna then followed with a double that scored Freeman and knocked Kershaw out of the game. Brusdar Graterol allowed two runs to come across and the Braves scored another off Victor Gonzalez before the Dodgers could get through the inning.
L.A. had a look at the game in the seventh as they loaded the bases with one out but all that came out of it was Rios’ sacrifice fly. Any momentum that may have led to was offset when Ozuna clubbed his second homer of the night in the bottom half of the inning and Matt Beaty’s error led to two more runs for Atlanta.
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