Thrilling as Friday night was for the Los Angeles Dodgers, it essentially will be all for naught if they are unable to defeat the Atlanta Braves in Game 6 of the National League Championship Series. The Dodgers again enter play with their backs against the wall, facing elimination.
The franchise has never come back from a 3-1 series deficit, and even with forcing a Game 6, falling short against the Braves would represent a disappointing and surprising finish to year in which they were the best team throughout.
L.A. has their work cut out for them as they get a second look at Max Fried. They were jut 4-for-22 against him over six innings in Game 1, with one hit being a home run by Kiké Hernandez. Fried finished with nine strikeouts against two walks.
Seeing A.J. Minter a second time in the NLCS didn’t prove fortuitous for the Dodgers, but they are hopeful to find success against Fried.
“He’s good, he’s one of the best in the National League, but we’ll be ready,” manager Dave Roberts said after his club’s Game 5 win.
Corey Seager added, “Seeing guys twice, that’s huge. The first time he did a really good job. He grinded, he never gave in and made pitches when he needed to. Now we’ve kind of built up a little knowledge of what it’s going to be like, what to expect, and hopefully you can kind of build off of it.”
Seager has made MLB history as the first shortstop to ever hit four home runs in a postseason series. He’s tied with Duke Snider (1952 and ’55 World Series) Steve Garvey (1978 NLCS) for most homers by a Dodgers player in a postseason series.
As for their pitching, L.A. hands the ball to Walker Buehler to set the stage of rematch of Game 1. Buehler labored through five-plus innings his first time facing the Braves, setting a career high (regular season and postseason) with five walks.
He managed to minimize the damage to just one run by collecting seven strikeouts. Buehler had been available to potentially pitch out of the bullpen in Game 4 if Clayton Kershaw stumbled in his return from back spasms.
Buehler has regularly stressed a need to reduce walks and pitch deeper into games, and while that remains a goal, there weren’t necessarily any changes to his preparation for Game 6.
“I don’t know if there’s a specific thing that I’ve done or anything like that,” he said. “Just trying to get myself ready physically to throw and mentally probably have a little bit more of an aggressive game plan.
“I don’t know if there is anything physically I would say I’ve done different. You’ve just got to have a certain mindset that may lead to those changes.”
Chris Taylor is not in the lineup after appearing to injure his right ankle during Friday’s win. Roberts said Taylor would be available off the bench if a situation presented itself. Moreover, Will Smith is the designated hitter and Austin Barnes catches.
Dodgers lineup
RF: Mookie Betts
SS: Corey Seager
3B: Justin Turner
1B: Max Muncy
DH: Will Smith
CF: Cody Bellinger
LF:AJ Pollock
2B: Kiké Hernandez
C: Austin Barnes
Braves lineup
RF: Ronald Acuña Jr.
1B: Freddie Freeman
DH: Marcell Ozuna
C: Travis d’Arnaud
2B: Ozzie Albies
SS: Dansby Swanson
3B: Austin Riley
LF: Nick Markakis
CF: Cristian Pache
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