Despite all the injuries to their pitching staff and questions about their depth, the Dodgers still believe.
That they can win a division title in the National League West.
That they can make a deep, albeit unconventional, October run.
That, as a manager Dave Roberts said: “The talent that we have, the character that we have, is enough to win the World Series.”
If so, they will need more performance like Sunday’s 9-2 victory on the Atlanta Braves.
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After entering the night with losses in six of their previous nine games, and a lead in the NL West that had been cut to three games by the surge San Diego PadresThe Dodgers put all the pieces together for a much-needed win at Truist Park.
Walker Buehler He overcame early-season command issues to throw six solid innings in one of his best performances of the season.
The team erased a two-point deficit early in the game, showing the kind of fight that has sometimes been lacking in recent weeks.
Then, with the score tied 2-2 in the ninth inning, their superstar bats exploded for a seven-run rally — a rally that started with an RBI single by Mookie Betts and then included three straight home runs by Teoscar Hernandez, Max Muncy And Tommy Edman.
It was a sigh of relief, a burst of elation and a potential postseason statement all wrapped up in a potentially decisive victory.
The Dodgers’ seven-run ninth inning was initially sparked by one of their coldest hitters, with Will Smith hitting a deep ball that bounced off the top of the tall brick wall in right-center for a leadoff triple.
Two batters later, the Braves had to make a decision: leave the right-handed pitcher Raisel Iglesias throw at Shohei Ohtani? Or intentionally walk the left-handed hitter, the MVP favorite, to face Betts instead.
Braves manager Brian Snitker chose the second option.
And, just like Betts did in a similar situation against the Angels earlier this month, he immediately made Atlanta pay.
On the third pitch of his at-bat, Betts hit a fastball through the middle of the infield for an RBI single, giving the Dodgers their first lead of the weekend series.
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Former Braves star Freddie Freeman quickly added some insurance, lining up a single to left that scored two runs after Kelenic in a jar played the ball badly.
From there, the Dodgers (88-61) vented their frustrations of the past few days, including Saturday’s news that star pitcher Tyler Glasnow will likely miss the remainder of the season with an elbow sprain — explosively.
Hernandez hit his 29th home run of the season into the left field. Muncy and Edman followed with solo shots that gave the Dodgers their third straight home run streak this month.
Without Buehler’s effort earlier in the evening, this might not have happened.
Buehler was nearly bowled over in a 31-pitch, two-run second inning — an inning in which the Dodgers’ recently sloppy defense didn’t help him much.
The Braves loaded the bases with one out, interspersing a couple of walks around a catcher’s interference call on Austin Barnes (who later left the game with a bruised left big toe that he broke last month).
Another walk at Matt Olsonafter Buehler was up 0-2 in the count, scored the first point of the night.
In the next at-bat, Buehler induced a slow grounder from Travis d’Arnaud. But on what could have been a tricky double play, the Dodgers failed to record an out, with Gavin Lux tripping the ball at second base to allow a run in, making the score 2-0.
But after that, Buehler calmed down.
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He retired the next two batters to limit the damage in the third inning.
He then cruised through three more innings with much-needed efficiency, allowing just an infield single the rest of the way in a six-inning, two-run (one earned) outing.
The Braves (81-68) allowed the Dodgers to get back into the game thanks to their own sloppy execution.
After Ohtani cut the deficit in half with an RBI single in the fifth, he got another chance with runners on base in the seventh, thanks in part to the Braves left-hander Dylan Lee.
With two outs in the inning, Lee had Smith in a full count, but then committed a pitch clock violation (his second of the inning) that led to an automatic walk. After the pinch hitter Andy Pages Following a single, Ohtani came back to the plate and doubled again, dropping a line drive down the right-field line.
The score was then tied 2-2. Two innings later, the Dodgers took the lead for good.
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This story originally appeared in Los Angeles Times.
