Emphatic reply
The Dodgers score 11 runs in the first en route to a 15-3 win over the Braves.
ARLINGTON — Max Muncy’s grand slam capped a record-setting 11-run first inning for the Los Angeles Dodgers, who coasted to a 15-3 rout of the Atlanta Braves on Wednesday night that cut their National League Championship Series deficit to 2 games to 1.
The slam by Muncy off Grant Dayton was the third homer in the first, the highest-scoring inning in amajor league postseason game. It was among a franchise-record five homers for the Dodgers, who set a team record for postseason runs.
“It’s pretty cool. Not too many things that are cooler than that,” said Muncy, a Midlandnative. “But thebiggest thing to me is our team got a W and got us back on track.”
Joc Pederson hit a threerun homer off starter Kyle Wright to start his four-hit night, and Edwin Rios went deep on next pitch. Corey Seager had a pair of RBI hits in the opening outburst, then added a solo homer in the third as the Dodgers built a 15-0 lead — the first
team with that many runs in the first three innings of a postseason game.
Winner Julio Urias, made his first postseason start and improved to 3-0 in these playoffs, striking out five while allowing one run and three hits over five innings. He walked the first two batters but no more.
Atlanta’s miserable start
was eerily similar to the Braves’ flop inGame5of last year’s Division Series against St. Louis, when they gave up a 10-run first inning at home in a season-ending start by Mike Foltynewicz.
Three-time NL Cy Young Award winner Clayton Kershaw likely will start Game 4 for the Dodgers, two nights after he was scratched because of back spasms. Bryse Wilson makes his postseasondebut as the thirdrookie righthanded starter for Atlanta in this series in what will be his first appearance since the final day of the regular season on Sept. 27.
“We still are ina goodspot with four games left,” Braves manager Brian Snitker said. “Like I say, for the whole team, you just turn the page and get ready to go tomorrow.”
The Dodgers had left the tying runat thirdbase after a four-run bottomof the ninth during an 8-7 loss Tuesday night. Theywere the visiting team in Game 3 and sent 14 batters to the plate for seven hits, three walks and a hit batter over 32minutes inthe 29,786th half-inning in postseason history.
Those15 runs over two atbats came after the Braves had allowed only nine runs in their previous six games plus eight innings, a stretch that included four shutouts en route to a 7-0 postseason start.
Reigning NL MVP Cody Bellingerwalked and scored in the first, led off the second with a homer and added an RBI single in the third.
His longball cameright after his running, leaping catch at the center field wall to rob Ozzie Albies with two on to end the Atlanta first.
Wright gave up seven runs while facing only nine batters. He had had thrown six scoreless innings in the Game 3 NL Division Series clincher over Miami last Thursday.