Braves nab another walk-off win
Clutch hits by Rosario, Riley put Dodgers in 2-0 NLCS hole
ATLANTA — The Braves won with a walk-off hit for the second night in a row when Eddie Rosario lined a two-out single off shortstop Corey Seager’s glove in the ninth inning, giving Atlanta a 5-4 victory over the Los Angeles Dodgers on Sunday and a 2-0 National League Championship Series lead.
Atlanta twice rallied from tworun deficits before Rosario came up with his fourth hit of the night, a 105-mph scorcher up the middle on the first pitch after closer Kenley Jansen entered. Seager tried for a backhand snag, but the ball skidded off his glove into center field.
Dansby Swanson raced around from second base with the winning run, dropping his helmet as he crossed the plate — a virtual repeat of Game 1 when Austin Riley came through with a winning hit in the ninth for a 3-2 victory.
The series resumes in Los Angeles, where Game 3 is set for Tuesday. The Braves need two more victories for their first World Series appearance since 1999, but they can’t celebrate yet.
A year ago, Atlanta held leads of 2-0 and 3-1 over the Dodgers in the NLCS, only to lose the last three games of a series played in Arlington, Texas, because the pandemic. Los Angeles went on to beat Tampa Bay in the World Series.
The Braves are halfway to payback after rallying in the eighth off Julio Urias, who pitched three hitless innings to finish Game 7 against the Braves last October.
Seager and Atlanta’s Joc Pederson traded two-run homers — Pederson adding to his “Joctober” lore with his third homer of this postseason and first off his longtime team — before Chris Taylor put the Dodgers ahead again with a two-run double in the seventh.
Six outs away from tying the series, the Dodgers brought in expected Game 4 starter Urias to protect the lead before turning it over to Jansen in the ninth.
The 20-game winner didn’t get it done. Rosario led off with a single and tagged up to move up to second on Freddie Freeman’s flyout to left.
Ozzie Albies lined one to right for another hit off Urias. Rosario zipped around third as third-base coach Ron Washington sent him home, just beating the throw with a brilliant slide that avoided catcher Will Smith’s swipe tag.
Then it was Riley, the Game 1 star, coming through again. He ripped a double to wall in right-center, bringing Albies around from first with the tying run.