Game 1 of the National League Division series began on Saturday with the heavily favored Los Angeles Dodgers taking down the Atlanta Braves, and with Game 2 being so pivotal, the road team felt as though this was a must-win encounter.
With Blake Snell taking the mound for the Dodgers and the Braves going with a bullpen game, this wasn't the ideal scenario, but in the end, the Braves managed to grind their way to a win, evening this series up at 1-1 heading back to Atlanta.
It wasn't pretty, it wasn't dominant, and there was no standout pitcher for the Braves, as the team used five players on the mound to limit the Dodgers to just one run on five hits, but given how dominant the back-to-back World Series Champions have been, that's what it takes to win.
The scoring got started early for the Braves, as they loaded the bases against Snell, with a Mauricio Dubon infield single got the team on the board in the top of the 1st inning, and while that's all Atlanta got off Snell, they knocked him out of the game in just 3.2 innings. Then, it was Michael Harris II to step up next, as he tripled in the 5th inning and scored on a wild pitch, putting the Braves back up 2-1 again, but against LA, that's not much of a buffer.
Not satisfied, Harris played a key role in the Braves third and final run as well, doubling in the top of the 7th to bring home Matt Olson, meaning he had a key role in two of the biggest runs of the Braves season as they looked to keep LA from a 2-0 lead after two games. Harris would end the game a home run short of the cycle, but given the low-scoring game this was, everything he did was pivotal to the Braves success.
On the mound, the Braves used five pitchers to keep LA to just two runs, with Didier Fuentes pitching 3.2 enormous innings late in the game before Raisel Iglesias came in to finish things off, picking up the final out to force the series to Atlanta locked at 1-1.
For the Dodgers, their lack of success wasn't for a lack of trying, but the team just couldn't find any momentum in this game, and while Max Muncy hit a solo shot with two outs in the 9th, it just wasn't enough as they came up short, with their superstar laden team clearly being tested.
Snell gave LA 3.2 innings of work, and beyond that, most of their pitchers were solid, with Kris Bubic on the losing side of this game with one earned run in 0.2 innings of work, with the wild pitch to score Harris the turning point in the game for Atlanta.
For years, the Dodgers calling card has been their deep lineup and their star studded pitching staff, and while that was on display in Game 1, they didn't look anywhere near that level in Game 2, and with some big names looming on the mound for Atlanta, this series is well and truly on.
Of course, it won't be easy for the Braves to replicate this performance again to stifle the Dodgers lineup, but with home field advantage in the next two, absolutely anything could happen after an impressive Game 2 performance.