Ninth-Inning Heroics, Another Choke Job In LA - NLDS Game 2 Recap
Breaking down Monday's breathtaking night of baseball for you...
Monday served as a reminder as to why having just two MLB playoff games per night is beneficial.
Sure, you can’t beat nights like Sunday or this coming Wednesday when we get a delicious feast of four games, but having just two to focus on per night allows for certain legendary moments to breathe.
The case in point being what happened on Monday night in the NLDS.
With the ALDS enjoying a day off, we were allowed to truly immerse ourself in the spectacle of an epic Phillies - Braves matchup that delivered an ending for the absolute ages.
What happened in the ninth inning at Truist Park is why we all love baseball.
It was exhilarating. It was breathtaking. It was truly intoxicating.
After composing ourselves for a brief moment, we were then given a stark reminder that the playoffs are a crapshoot and nothing is guaranteed, not even for juggernaut teams who won 100 plus games during the regular season.
This Dodgers team is on the ropes. And we’re on the cusp of getting our first major upset of these playoffs.
Now, see, if we were to have had all four Division Series take place on Monday, some of those magic moments may have got lost in the shuffle, or not been given the requisite amount of time in the spotlight they so deserve.
And that would have sucked.
Because, given what took place at Truist Park and given what happened at Dodger Stadium, those events deserved our full unadulterated attention without other moments seeping in and trying to steal their thunder.
So, to that end, I’m thankful for these two-game schedules.
With that, let’s dive in to today’s NLDS Game 2 Recap…
NLDS GAME 2 RECAPS
Philadelphia Phillies (1-1) 4-5 Atlanta Braves (1-1)
Dive into the lofty annuals of baseball history, and you will discover that every World Series Champion can fall back on a pivotal moment that defined their entire euphoric run.
For example, you could say that Aroldis Chapman entering Game 5 with the Cubs down 3-1 against Cleveland and earning the save acted as a defining moment in Chicago going on to win the 2016 World Series. If it were not for Chapman’s heroics in Game 5, the series would have ended right there and the Billy Goat Curse may never have been broken.
You could also say that Game 2 of the 2017 World Series was a defining moment for the Astros during their run to the first championship in franchise history. Marwin Gonzalez stepped up in the ninth inning and launched a bomb to tie the game at 3-3 to take the game to extra-innings, before Jose Altuve and Carlos Correa hit back-to-back home runs to win the game and earn a split at Dodger Stadium before returning to Houston. That swung the momentum of the entire series firmly in the Astros’ favor.
Those are what we call October moments.
I bring all of that up to simply say that if the Atlanta Braves go on to win the World Series in 2023, they will look back at the events of Monday night as their defining moment.
Their very own October moment.
Game 2 at Truist Park looked pretty similar to Game 1 for the most part. The Phillies were able to shut down an explosive and incredibly dangerous Braves offense thanks to the prowess of Zack Wheeler, who looked like a giant on the mound. He was locked in from the start, and he was twirling a magical no hitter through the first 5 2/3 innings.
Wheeler looked untouchable. His lethal fastball made a historically great Braves offense that slugged 307 home runs during the regular season look average. At best.
So dominant was Wheeler, so filthy and powerful was his stuff, the Braves didn’t record a single hit, run or walk until the sixth inning. Eight of the first 11 Atlanta batters struck out.
On the other side, Wheeler’s statement night was being backed up by a Phillies lineup that is great in its own right. As was the case in Game 1, the offense came up with timely hits in big spots. Alec Bohm hit an RBI single in the top of the first to score Trea Turner as the Phillies came out swinging from the get-go, resembling the city’s most famous son; Rocky.
J.T. Realmuto then blasted his second homer of the postseason with a two-run blast in the top of the third, before some aggressive baserunning paid off in the fifth as a Bryson Stott sacrifice fly scored Nick Castellanos.
The Phillies had a 4-0 lead heading into the sixth inning.
They were firmly in control. All of the momentum was firmly in their favor. Philadelphia’s status as a team of destiny was rising rapidly to the surface.
It seemed clear that the Braves, for all the history they made during the regular season, for all the records they smashed, for as elite a team as they were, they just had no answers for this relentless, dominant, clutch Phillies team.
Then, in the blink of an eye, everything changed.
Just like that.
It started in the sixth inning. With a man on and two outs, Atlanta finally recorded their first hit of the game as Ozzie Albies laced a line-drive single to right fielder Nick Castellanos. In what looked like a routine play, Castellanos threw the ball over to Turner who suffered a brain fart as the ball bobbled up on him and over his glove, allowing Ronald Acuña Jr. to score. It wasn’t Turner’s only error of the night either. Now, the shortstop did lead MLB in fielding errors in 2023 with 23 but, as far as the postseason was concerned, he had played a pretty spotless game up until that point.
And it proved to be the most costly of errors.
All of a sudden, change was in the air. Atlanta could smell blood. For the first time in this series, Philadelphia appeared vulnerable.
And then it imploded in the second.
If injected with truth serum, Phillies manager Rob Thomson will admit that he shouldn’t have let Wheeler go back out for the seventh. Already having thrown 85 pitches, the ace looked gassed and his lack of juice led to dire consequences. Wheeler allowed a leadoff single to Matt Olson and, while he struckout Marcell Ozuna, his 81.6 mph slider was absolutely destroyed by Travis d’Arnaud for a two-run blast that made it a one-run game.
Wheeler was swiftly removed after allowing three runs on three hits - a far cry from how his night started out. But, by that point, the damage was already done and all the momentum was with the Braves. And Truist Park knew it. With the home crowd suddenly re-energized, they nearly caused an earthquake in Atlanta so loud was the roar after Austin Riley smacked a two-run bomb to left field that gave the Braves a lead in the eighth - their first lead of the playoffs.
A lead they clung on to for dear life the rest of the way.
If you thought that was clutch from Riley, though, wait, because there was more.
Bryce Harper entered the game hitting .352 with a 1.186 OPS in 20 playoff games with the Phillies. He isn’t called Postseason Bryce Harper for nothing, you know. So, when Harper came up to the plate in the top of the ninth, there was an expectation he would do something special.
So, okay, Harper didn’t come through with a clutch hit or a game-breaking homer, but he did draw a walk to put the tying run on base. That set the stage for Castellanos with one out. And, for a moment, it looked like the veteran delivered. Castellanos hit a deep fly ball to center field that looked like it could have carried over the wall, only for Michael Harris II to make a stunning, jaw-dropping, all-time clutch leap to make the catch, before Austin Riley was able to get Harper out at first, with the Phillies star unable to get back in time.
That was it. Game, set and match.
Game over. A totally different complexion to the series.
Just like that, the series was tied and the Braves were alive again in the most improbable, implausible, miraculous and spectacular way.
They saved their season, breathed new life into it and swung the momentum firmly back in their favor as the series shifts to Philadelphia for Games 3 & 4.
This could prove to be a majestic turning point.
And, if the Braves do end up turning this around and advancing, and maybe even doing a whole lot more than that, than the breathtaking, picture-perfect sight of Michael Harris II making a leaping grab at the wall will live on in Atlanta sports lore forever.
It will serve as one of the Braves’ most cherished October moments.
And it could be looked back upon as the singular play that defined an entire history-breaking year.
Arizona Diamondbacks (2-0) 4-2 LA Dodgers (0-2)
Are we about to witness yet another choke job by the LA Dodgers in the playoffs?
Are we really on the cusp of watching another all-time great regular season burst into flames and explode within a matter of days in the postseason?
I think the answer to both of those questions is a resounding yes. Unless, of course, the Dodgers can mount an awe-inspiring comeback and win three games on the bounce. Which, given their wealth of elite talent and postseason experience, you wouldn’t put it past them. However, on the flip side, we’ve seen nothing from this team in Games 1 & 2 to suggest that they can win even one game, let alone three.
Now, for those of you who consume a hell of a lot of baseball and know what you are talking about, LA crapping the bed and collapsing like a cheap pack of cards in October probably won’t surprise you all that much. This, after all, is their M.O. But, not only that, there were enough red flags popping up during a 100-win regular season to suggest that this was probably going to happen.
For starters, the Dodgers have no starting pitching with a slew of elite arms on the shelf. Clayton Kershaw, as great as he was in 2023, was clearly struggling with a bum left shoulder and, I mean, look what happened in Game 1. The bullpen was always going to be overworked sooner rather than later given how much of the burden they were having to carry.
I’ll boast for a little now. I even pointed out in my NLDS Series Preview that, if I could see one major upset happening in the Divisional Round, it would be the Arizona Diamondbacks shocking the Dodgers.
Did I see a sweep coming? Hell no. And, while a sweep may still not happen, I wouldn’t be surprised in the slightest if it did at this point.
That’s just how vulnerable the Dodgers seem to me right now.
Everything is going wrong, and they just have no answers.
It was more of the same in Game 2.
Rookie starter Bobby Miller - who was electric during the regular season with an 11-4 record and a 3.76 ERA - was given the ball in Game 2 and expected to save this Dodgers team. That is a hell of a lot to ask from a 24-year-old who has never experienced the pressure of playing meaningful games in October before.
Again, postseason baseball is a completely different beast compared to regular season baseball. It just is.
As a result, the predictable happened. Miller struggled in his first taste of the playoffs, giving up two runs in the first as the D-Backs came out absolutely swinging and landing blows early. Just as they did in Game 1. Miller gave up three earned runs on four hits with three walks and one strikeout and, after a Lourdes Gurriel Jr. single made it a three nothing game, Miller’s miserable postseason debut was over.
I’ll say this loud enough so those at the back of the room can hear: YOU CAN’T WIN IN OCTOBER WITHOUT GOOD STARTING PITCHING!
And the Dodgers don’t have starting pitching. They just don’t. For the second consecutive game, a starter got pulled without even completing two innings. And, for the second consecutive game, the bullpen was asked to pick up a back-breaking load.
They did their best. They did allow a solo home run to Gurriel Jr. in the sixth, although they were not helped by a lineup that is meant to be productive. Sure, J.D. Martinez did smash his first homer of the postseason to make it a two-run game in the bottom of the fourth, and Enrique Hernandez hit a one-run single in the sixth to make it a two-run game yet again. However, Mookie Betts went 0-for-4, and Freddie Freeman went 1-for-4 with a strikeout. The Dodgers strung together just six hits all night.
Betts is now 0-for-7 in this series, while Freeman is 1-for-6 with a pair of walks. If your big hitters and main stars can’t produce, your lineup as whole puts together just 10 hits in two games combined, and if your starters keep getting knocked out of games early, then there is no feasible pathway ahead for success. There just isn’t.
And, look, full credit to the D-Backs who are 4-0 in the postseason, with all four wins coming on the road. That’s the sign of a tough team that literally doesn’t fear anybody. Ahead of returning home to Chase Field, this gritty, resilient, stubborn Diamondbacks team will now be uber-confident of finishing the job, sweeping LA like they were swept by the mighty Dodgers back in 2017, and returning to the NL Championship Series for the first time since 2007.
At this point, anything is possible with the D-Backs. They may well be this year’s team of destiny, rather than the Phillies. They have discovered the secret sauce and they are going to be a tough out for any team.
As for the Dodgers, winning 100 games and magical, MVP-caliber seasons from Betts and Freeman have just papered over the cracks. This is a flawed team with a beat-up rotation and a history of choking in the postseason. They made 10 consecutive trips to the playoffs with just one World Series and a laundry list of embarrassing collapses to show for it. They might be on the precipice of making it 11 straight trips to the postseason with more abject failures than successes.
The entire baseball world will be stunned if the Dodgers can’t come back and are indeed knocked out by the Diamondbacks. But they shouldn’t be. Because, if you really look hard enough, all the signs that this team was built to choke on the biggest stage yet again have been there for a while.
But, given everything that did happen in 2023, this may end up being the most shocking choke job / collapse of them all if Arizona is able to get the job done.
Looking Ahead To Tuesday
Allow me to get you set for the two matchups in the ALDS on Wednesday, including a potential series-clincher…
Houston Astros (1-1) At Minnesota Twins (1-1) - 4:07 P.M. ET (FOX)
RHP Cristian Javier, Houston (10-5, 4.56 ERA) - RHP Sonny Gray, Minnesota (1-0, 0.00 ERA)
Target Field has already witnessed history this postseason with the Twins winning a first playoff game since 2004, and a first playoff series win since 2002. That hungry, passionate and electric crowd will be ready for more come Game 3. After a huge, impressive and statement-like win in Game 2, all the momentum is with Minnesota and they have the luxury of giving the ball to Sonny Gray in Game 3. Gray was stellar in the Wild Card Series and the Twins now boast the superior pitching matchups, in addition to the fact that Carlos Correa proved in Game 2 that he can be a game-changer at any given moment. Sure, it would be stupid to ever count the Astros truly out because proving people wrong and finding ways to win is what they do, especially in October. But there is just something about this Twins team, and they now have a golden opportunity to seize control of this series in Game 3. Minnesota will be ready.
Baltimore Orioles (0-2) At Texas Rangers (2-0) - 8:03 P.M. ET (FOX)
RHP Dean Kremer, Baltimore (13-5, 4.12 ERA) - RHP Nate Eovaldi, Texas (1-0, 1.35 ERA)
We could witness the first elimination of the Division Series tonight. The Texas Rangers are just one win away from sweeping the Baltimore Orioles and, given what we saw in Games 1 & 2, I don’t think anyone would be surprised if Texas closes this one out in Arlington on Tuesday. The Rangers have been relentless, they have come up clutch in big spots time and time again and they are taking full advantage of the many mistakes the Orioles are making. Plus, Nate Eovaldi will be on the mound for Texas in Game 3, and he was workmanlike and dominant in the Wild Card. He could be a matchup nightmare for the Baltimore lineup. And, you have to factor in that Marcus Semien and Corey Seager have yet to go off in this series, although Seager did walk five times in Game 2. Those two are due a monster game, and it could come back at Globe Life Field tonight. As for the Orioles, they haven’t been swept since May 2022 so the odds are they will steal at least one game to make this series a bit more interesting. They are going to need a gem from RHP Dean Kremer, though, and the top of that lineup is going to need to come through in clutch spots. Gunnar Henderson and Adley Rutschman are absolute stars, and they are going to have to deliver as such if the Orioles want to avoid the embarrassment of being swept after winning 101 games in the regular season.
We’re getting closer to the Championship Series.
Enjoy tonight’s baseball and we’ll see you on Wednesday for another recap.
