LOS ANGELES — Ray Kerr and Didier Fuentes combined to allow one run over 6 1/3 innings as the Atlanta Braves pieced together a 3-2 victory over the Los Angeles Dodgers on Sunday to even the National League Division Series at one game apiece.
Michael Harris II went 3-for-5 with a triple and a double, scored one run and drove in another as the Braves head home in the best-of-five series with Game 3 on Tuesday.
Left-hander Kerr opened with 2 2/3 scoreless innings, right-hander Fuentes came on in the sixth and gave up a run over 3 2/3 innings, while Raisel Iglesias recorded the final out for the right-hander’s second save of the postseason.
“I think a lot of guys had big at-bats today and pitched really well,” Braves catcher Drake Baldwin said after the win. “Having a bullpen game three games in a row is tough to do. I think just kind of how our bullpen showed out says a lot about us, and especially when we have some starters lined up for the next two games back in Atlanta. I think it kind of instills some confidence in us and gives us some momentum going back to Atlanta as well.
Atlanta considered using ace left-hander Chris Sale to start Game 2 after he recorded the final four outs of Thursday’s 6-2 victory over the Philadelphia Phillies in the wild-card round. Instead, the Braves elected to start him in Game 3.
“I think it means a lot to obviously overcome what happened yesterday, not winning the game, and taking momentum and going back to Atlanta and potentially hand the ball off to either Mahle or Sale,” Harris said. “I think that gives us confidence and motivation to come back with some momentum.”
Freddie Freeman hit a home run against his former team and Max Muncy also went deep for the Dodgers, who went 0-for-8 with runners in scoring position.
“We had opportunities. We just couldn’t get a hit when we needed to,” Dodgers manager Dave Roberts said. “We didn’t throw out a bunch of hits but there was still traffic. We didn’t need many hits tonight to have a different result, and we just couldn’t get it.”
Left-hander Blake Snell lasted just 3 2/3 innings for Los Angeles, allowing one run on three hits with five walks and five strikeouts while throwing 90 pitches.
The Braves got on the scoreboard in the first inning when Ronald Acuna Jr. singled with one out, stole second base and scored on Mauricio Dubon’s two-out, bases-loaded infield single. Atlanta left the bases loaded in the inning.
The Dodgers got even in the fourth when Freeman hit a home run against right-hander Grant Holmes. It was Freeman’s seventh home run against the Braves since leaving the club after the 2021 season.
Atlanta took the lead for good in the fifth inning at 2-1 when Harris tripled to left field with two outs against Kris Bubic (0-1) and scored on a wild pitch.
Harris made it 3-1 for the Braves in the seventh on an RBI double to right field against Edgardo Henriquez.
Fuentes was one out away from finishing off the victory when Muncy hit a home run to right on a 3-2 fastball.
Kerr, Holmes, Dylan Lee (2-0), Robert Suarez, Fuentes and Iglesias combined to hold the Dodgers to two runs on six hits with three walks and nine strikeouts.
“I think we all knew it was going to be a really good series. Just two really good teams going at it,” Freeman said. “Pitching has been really good in both games so far. We have to find a way to score some runs without hitting a home run. I think that’s our biggest thing right now. Get guys on base, get that big hit and hopefully our pitching keeps doing what they’re doing.”
–Doug Padilla, Field Level Media
