Acuna slam sets tone
Rookie’s HR keeps Braves in series despite tight finish
ATLANTA — Reliever Arodys Vizcaino escaped his own jam in a nervy ninth inning, and the Braves held off the Dodgers 6-5 Sunday night to cut their deficit in the NL Division Series to 2-1.
Rookie Ronald Acuna Jr. hit a grand slam that helped the Braves build an early 5-0 lead. They blew that advantage, but Freddie Freeman hit a tiebreaking homer in the sixth.
In the ninth, the Dodgers got runners on first and second with no outs. Vizcaino came back from a 3-0 count to strike out slugger Max Muncy, then fanned Manny Machado on a wild pitch that moved the runners to second and third.
With the entire crowd at SunTrust Park standing, chanting and chopping, Vizcaino fanned a swinging Brian Dozier to end it.
Shut out in the first two games at Dodger Stadium, the NL East champion Braves bounced back.
“My heart’s still pounding,” Freeman said, moments after the last out. “That’s how we’ve been all year.”
“I like our chances. We’ve got a uniform on, so we know we’ve got a chance,” he said.
At 20, Acuna became the youngest player to hit a postseason grand slam — Mickey Mantle was 21 when he did it for the Yankees in the 1953 World Series.
Acuna connected in the second, right after Dodgers rookie Walker Buehler walked Braves starting pitcher Sean Newcomb on four pitches.
Freeman connected on the first pitch from former teammate Alex Wood to put the Braves back on top.
Chris Taylor hit a tworun homer, and Muncy added a tying homer in the fifth to lead the Dodgers’ comeback.
Tagged at the outset, Buehler regained control as the Dodgers began their rally. Newcomb was pulled after a pair of walks in the third and Justin Turner hit an RBI single off Kevin Gausman. Taylor also scored when Acuna bobbled the ball in left field for an error.
Taylor connected off Gausman, and Muncy added a tying homer off Max Fried in the fifth.