Dodgers Team News

Dodgers NLCS: Los Angeles Drops Game 1 After a 9th Inning Meltdown

Game 1 of the National League Championship Series between the Dodgers and Braves was every bit the pitcher’s matchup that was advertised. Well, it was right up until the last portion of the game. Walker Buehler got the ball for Los Angeles going up against the incredibly effective Max Fried for Atlanta. 

Starting Pitching Gets it Done

Walker Buehler and Max Fried finished with very different stat lines, but both left the game with only 1 run on the board. Buehler walked 5 total batters and was pulled with nobody out in the 6th inning. he finished up with just 1 run allowed, a monster shot by Freddie Freeman. 



Max Fried was borderline dominant in this be, cruising through 6 innings of work with limited damage. The Dodgers piled together 4 hits and a pair of walks, but the only run came on a Kiké Hernandez solo shot

Both Bullpens Come Through

This game ultimately came down to which team had the better bullpen. The Dodgers and Braves bullpens traded blows back and forth, each coming up with huge outs. Dustin May came on in the 6th for Walker Buehler with runners aboard and stranded them. Victor Gonzalez followed him up in the 8th and struck out Charlie Culberson to strand the bases loaded. 

Blake Treinen came on in the 9th inning and gave up a mammoth solo shot to Braves third baseman Austin Riley. That put the Braves up for good as they would go on to take Game 1 of the NLCS from the Dodgers. The Braves would go on to add a few more runs via base hit and a home run by Ozzie Albies. 

Up Next for the Dodgers

The Dodgers and Braves are back at it again Tuesday afternoon in Arlington. Cayton Kershaw gets the ball for Los Angeles and will go up against Ian Anderson. The start time for that one is set for 3:05 PM Pacific Time. 

Dodgers: Andrew Friedman Admits Kenley Jansen’s Role is Still Uncertain

17 Comments

    1. You are spot on nik, this series is going to go 6 or 7 games. So a single loss is no reason to go crazy.

  1. The team did not look good at all. No idea what Roberts was doing with the bullpen? I dont even want to think what would happen if we go 0-2.

  2. 2013…2014…2015…2016…2017…2018…2019…? Roberts overmanaging and Dodgers stars choking in the playoffs has become a Los Angeles tradition. Time to leave Bellinger and Seager off of the postseason roster.

  3. It’s a seven game series, so this isn’t fatal. But It looked like the Dodgers were back to the big empty swings again. And, it looks like they’re gonna have to save at least one of the May-Urias-Gonsolin-Graterol tribe for the ninth inning going forward.

    1. Like I mentioned a while back, the areas where Dodgers have fallen short in the past several post seasons is the offense showing no plate discipline and striking out a ton and the pitching serving up the game winning HRs. Jansen was not the culprit this time but those 2 things I just talked about once again came up to beat the Dodgers yet again. I mean, in very 1st inning Dodgers were put behind due to a HR by the by the opponent. Now of course it’s just game 1 but if Dodgers can’t get it done with whoever pitches the 8th or 9th inning then this series may end sooner than any of us want it to.

  4. Hahahaha… All you myopic Dodgers fans got the tomahawk reality chop tonight. Your team stinks, same old script, MVPs whoops LVPs Betts and Bellinger totally choked. So nice to see Corey Seager reverted back to his old self, swung and missed, swung and missed. We’ve watched this same movie in 2017, 2018, 2019. Tomorrow Kershaw will get hammered. Bullpen was the biggest question mark going into the season. Now Friedman’s $10 restoration project Blake Treinen goes bust. Braves in 4.

    1. After such a long string of wins they lose one gsme and the over analysis begins! Be honest, It was a good gsme, well pitched until 2 relievers got hit. Both guys are good so I wonp second guess using them. Our bats didn’t come through ehich happens when you face good pitching. We’ve all said that our depth and length will prevail in a 7 gsme series with no off days so why change your mind now? Be patient, this team is for real and will come back strong

      1. Thank you, Kike for your solo homerun. With that being said, our bats were cold against impressive pitching; but, for the most part, our pitching rivaled theirs and our defense was able to keep the Braves from scoring. In fact, I believe that the Braves left more guys on base than we did (which also means that their bats were hotter.)

        Although our bats were cold and that cannot be ignored, I remain (and have been throughout this and last season) concerned about the ninth inning: we need a Closer. I look at Graterol (and/or Gonzalez) and wonder why not? Regardless, at this point, I plan to be patient and optimistic that the Dodgers are going to handle business and we will advance to the World Series. GO DODGERS!!!

    2. Just so you know…Kershaw is not pitching today…
      As for our team stinks…best record in baseball during regular season and went into last night’s game undefeated postseason. Not sure what team you are affiliated with, but I can say with absolute certainty that our Dodgers’ overall record is better. Still, I must admit that I am always amused when non Dodgers’ fans are willing to spend time trolling on Dodgersnation trying to throw shade. Perhaps, you want to show your support for the Braves; or maybe you simply resent the Dodgers and are bored because your team has already been retired for the season…

    3. MrHughes, last night was an excellent game between two evenly matched teams. This is going to be a long and good series. Both teams can be explosive. It was pretty even through the first eight and Braves had the day in the ninth. But you had better be careful about making predictions, crow is not very tasty.

  5. This loss is not on Roberts. One run rarely wins a game.
    Roberts can’t go out there and bat for them. I didn’t like using May in relief because we will need him to start in a long series with no breaks. Treinen was a better choice than Jansen and most others. It just didn’t work out this time. The best approach is to forget this game, and get back to manufacturing runs today with a small ball approach, like they had in the finale with the Padres.

  6. Nothing new here been doing it for last 30 years… fall apart when the big games are on the line…. live with it.. I have learned too

    1. When that disaster unfolded I had no emotion I’ve been expecting it since game 1 of the wild card series. Haven’t really had any emotion in the playoffs since 2017. I was numbed after that one

  7. Kershaw scratched from today’s start due to back spasms. Gonsolin finally gets a start. But if Dodgers continue to choke on offense by striking out in key situations. This series ends on Thursday and Dodgers will be sent home

    1. Just when you think the Dodgers changed they go right back to the long selfish swings no team ball whatsoever. They had some good at bats but as soon as they drew walks they didn’t continue with it they started going big again. I think they saw Freeman hit one out easily and thought they could homer in this park, this is where leadership comes in. Where was Roberts or Betts to get them back in line

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