Game 1 of the NLCS was an old fashioned pitching duel between the Atlanta Braves and Los Angeles Dodgers… and then the top of the ninth happened.
With the game tied 1-1, Atlanta’s Austin Riley crushed a 448-foot blast off Los Angeles reliever Blake Treinen to lead off the ninth.
The Braves’ Marcell Ozuna added an RBI single to make it 3-1, and then Ozzie Albies made it a 5-1 game with a two-run homer, which Mark Melancon made a very nice casual grab on in the bullpen.
5-1 would serve as the final score, in a tremendously pitched game by Atlanta. Braves ace Max Fried allowed one run and struck out nine over six innings, and their bullpen threw three scoreless innings. The Braves also got a solo home run from Freddie Freeman to open the scoring in the first inning.
Now, winning three more games against the Dodgers will be quite a challenge, but this was an excellent start to the series for the Braves. Ian Anderson — who has thrown 11 2/3 scoreless innings this postseason — will try to outduel Clayton Kershaw in Game 2 on Tuesday.
About Matt Clapp
Matt is an editor/writer at The Comeback and Awful Announcing.
He can be reached by email at mclapp@thecomeback.com.