Los Angeles punched its ticket to a third straight National League Championship Series with a 4-1 Game 4 win over Atlanta on Wednesday night at Truist Park, and the clean finish may matter nearly as much as the result. The Dodgers will have extra time before NLCS Game 1 on Sunday, with the opener set for FOX, FS1, FOX Deportes and FOX One.
The first-round bye showed its value again in the Division Series. By closing out the Braves in four games instead of letting the series reach a fifth, the Dodgers protected a pitching staff that can now be arranged to Dave Roberts’ liking for the next round.
A rotation with room to breathe
- Los Angeles entered the NLDS with a rested group of starters and used Tarik Skubal, Blake Snell, Yoshinobu Yamamoto and Tyler Glasnow in that order.
- If Atlanta had forced Game 5, Skubal would have been in line to pitch Friday, delaying his availability until at least Game 3 of the NLCS.
- Instead, Roberts has flexibility again. He is not committed to repeating the NLDS order, but the club can deploy its frontline starters without being forced into an emergency shuffle.
That gives the Dodgers confidence in the early and middle innings. Their primary question remains at the back end, where Edwin Díaz has worked his way back into the ninth-inning picture.
Díaz carried an 8.68 ERA through an injury-hit regular season, then missed a month with neck stiffness. Since returning from the injured list on Sept. 18, however, he has thrown eight scoreless innings, surrendering two hits and one walk while striking out 12.
His perfect, two-strikeout inning in Game 2 marked his sixth scoreless appearance since the return. He then received save chances in Games 3 and 4 and finished both. The closer assignment could still change, given the uneven path of Díaz’s first Dodgers season, but he has recently looked much more like the pitcher Los Angeles expected after signing him for three years and $69 million last offseason.
Freeman’s bat is moving again
Freddie Freeman’s late-September slump is already fading in the rearview. He ended the regular season 12-for-72, a .167 stretch that included 21 strikeouts and no extra-base hits, but his response in the NLDS was emphatic.
Freeman reached safely twice in Game 1 and homered in each of the next two games. He went hitless in the clincher, yet every trip to the plate produced hard contact: a 96.5 mph flyout, grounders at 104 mph and 97.9 mph, and a 105.9 mph groundout.
After Game 2, Freeman made clear that he was not interested in lingering concern over September: “I feel good, so we can stop with those questions.”
The supporting cast carried the clincher
Game 4 offered a familiar reminder of the Dodgers’ October depth. Mookie Betts, Freeman, Will Smith and Shohei Ohtani combined to go 0-for-15, but Los Angeles still scored four times to end Atlanta’s season.
- With two outs and the bases loaded in the seventh, Andy Pages delivered the go-ahead hit. It was a major moment for an outfielder coming off one of baseball’s roughest postseason performances a year ago.
- Max Muncy added breathing room in the ninth with his 19th career postseason home run.
- Kiké Hernández had supplied the key homer in Game 3.
- Teoscar Hernández delivered in the Game 1 victory.
That collection of contributions has softened the impact of Ohtani’s quiet Division Series. Ohtani was moved to fifth in the order for Game 3, a decision Roberts said was tied to the matchup against elite left-hander Chris Sale rather than a broader lineup reset.
Ohtani finished the NLDS 2-for-13 (.154) with four strikeouts and two walks. He had missed most of September while dealing with multiple injuries, then returned for five tune-up games during the final week of the regular season. The Dodgers survived without his usual production against Atlanta; reaching another pennant will be easier if his timing sharpens with more October at-bats.
