Machado, Dodgers eliminate Braves, advance to NLCS
ATLANTA — When the Los Angeles Dodgers bolstered their already power-packed lineup with slugging shortstop Manny Machado, this is just what they had in mind.
Plenty of long balls. Another deep run in the postseason.
Next stop, the NL Championship Series for the third year in a row.
Machado drove in four runs — three of them with a seventh-inning shot into the left-field seats — and the Dodgers finished off the Atlanta Braves with a 6-2 victory Monday in the NL Division Series.
“There are so many expectations put on him,” Dodgers manager Dave Roberts said. “We have a lot of good players, but I can’t say enough about his focus and preparedness.”
Los Angeles took the best-of-five series 3-1 and advanced to face the Brewers. Game 1 is Friday night in Milwaukee.
Coming off a tense victory in Game 3, the Baby Braves grabbed the lead on pinch-hitter Kurt Suzuki’s two-run single in the fourth.
But David Freese, the 2011 World Series MVP with St. Louis, came through again in the postseason. He delivered a pinch-hit single in the sixth off Brad Brach, driving home Cody Bellinger and Yasiel Puig for a 3-2 lead.
Machado finished off Atlanta in the seventh, launching a 1-2 pitch from rookie Chad Sobotka over the Dodgers’ bullpen — his team’s eighth homer of the series. A free-agent-to-be acquired from Baltimore in July, Machado also had a run-scoring double in the first.
He had only three hits in the series, but two of them were homers, along with six RBIs.
“I’m just sitting here enjoying everything, enjoying the ride,” Machado said.
Ryan Madson (1-0) earned the win by getting the final two outs in the fifth to escape a bases-loaded jam. The Braves’ final gasp came in the eighth, when Lucas Duda’s drive into the second deck in right drifted foul with two on against Kenta Maeda. Duda flied out to end the inning, and Atlanta went down quietly in the ninth.
The Dodgers celebrated briefly and posed for pictures in the middle of SunTrust Park, but they have much bigger goals. Los Angeles is seeking its first World Series title since 1988.
“We all know that there’s a lot more work to be done,” Robert said. “We have eight more wins to go.”
Atlanta’s return to the postseason for the first time since 2013 yielded a familiar result.
The Braves have lost nine straight playoff appearances, their last victory coming 17 long years ago against a team that is no longer in the National League. Since a sweep of Houston Astros in the 2001 NL Division Series, October has been a month of misery for the Braves.
Getting back to the playoffs ahead of schedule after a massive rebuild, Atlanta simply didn’t have the experience, depth or power to stick with the power-packed Dodgers. Los Angeles had a franchise-record 235 homers during the regular season and hit eight more against the Braves, accounting for 14 of its 20 runs.
“They’re a very powerful team,” Braves manager Brian Snitker said. “It’s what they’ve done all year is hit home runs. We’re not built like that yet.”
Los Angeles also benefited from some shaky Atlanta defense during its go-ahead inning. Puig kept the sixth going with a popup down the line off Jonny Venters (0-1) that fell between second baseman Ozzie Albies and right fielder Nick Markakis.
Puig stole second without drawing a throw and came home when backup shortstop Charlie Culberson failed to knock down Freese’s sharp grounder up the middle. A super sub during the regular season, Culberson had to start in the playoffs because of an injury to regular Dansby Swanson.
WILD STARTERS
Rich Hill of the Dodgers walked five in 4 1/3 innings, including a pair leading off the fifth that set up Suzuki’s two-run single. Atlanta’s Mike Foltynewicz walked four (one intentional) in four innings before he was lifted.
TOUGH OUT
Hill isn’t much of a hitter, but he sure made Foltynewicz work for an inning-ending strikeout in the fourth.
After falling behind 0-2 in the count, Hill fouled out five straight pitches.
Finally, Foltynewicz blew a 97-mph fastball by the .107 career hitter.
FIRST PITCH
The Braves brought out another Hall of Famer to deliver the ceremonial first pitch.
Former Atlanta manager Bobby Cox one-hopped his toss to the plate but still received a big ovation from the Atlanta crowd.
Chipper Jones threw out the first pitch before Game 3.
SMALLER CROWD
The announced crowd of 39,586 was nearly 3,000 smaller than the previous night’s record SunTrust Park turnout, perhaps because of a 4:30 p.m. start time that coincided with Atlanta’s notorious rush hour.
UP NEXT
The Dodgers beat Milwaukee 4-3 in the season series. Both teams won division titles with one-game playoff victories the day after the regular season.
Atlanta opens the 2019 season at Philadelphia on March 28.
