Although it took a day longer than perhaps it should have, the Dodgers are going to the National League Championship Series for the third consecutive season, after finishing off the Atlanta Braves in Game-4 of the National League Division Series on Monday evening by a score of 6-2 in front of 39,586 tomahawk-chopping fans at Sun Trust Park.

But the story within this story is that it was the new kids on the block (so to speak) who got it done.

With the Dodgers trailing 2-1 in the top half of the sixth inning, Dodgers manager Dave Roberts had former World Series folk hero David Freese – whom the Dodgers had acquired from the Pittsburgh Pirates at the August 31 waiver trade deadline – pinch-hit for 38-year-old right-handed reliever Ryan Madson (yet another Dodgers newcomer whom the Dodgers acquired from the Washington Nationals on August 31) with runners at the corners and two outs.

On the third pitch of Freese’s at-bat, Dodgers right fielder Yasiel Puig, who had reached first base on a one out single, stole second base without a throw, with Dodgers center fielder Cody Bellinger on third base, having reached on a fielder’s choice force out and advancing to third on Puig’s single.

With two outs and with two runners now in scoring position (the Dodgers season-long nemesis), Freese lined a single up the middle to score both Bellinger and Puig, thus turning that 2-1 deficit into a 3-2 Dodgers lead.

It was Freese’s two-out / two-run pinch-hit single in the top of the sixth inning that turned a 2-1 deficit into a 3-2 Dodgers lead; a lead which they would not relinquish en route to their eventual NLDS-clinching 6-2 win over the Braves. (Video capture courtesy of Fox FS1)

One inning later, Dodgers shortstop Manny Machado, whom the Dodgers acquired from the Baltimore Orioles shortly after the All-Star Break, slugged a devastating (for the Braves, that is) three-run home run into the left field bleachers to make it a 6-2 ballgame and out of reach for Braves manager Brian Snitker’s team. It also demoralized and (thankfully) silenced the ever-annoying tomahawk chopping crowd.

Machado’s seventh-inning three-run home run off of Braves right-hander Chad Sobotka sealed the deal for the Dodgers and punched their ticket to their third consecutive National League Championship Series.
(Video capture courtesy of Fox FS1)

“Tonight was actually pretty cool, to see a lot of those guys we’ve acquired over the last few months of the season come through,” said Dodgers general manager Farhan Zaidi, who orchestrated the Machado, Freese, and Madson acquisitions.

Come through they did.

“Putting him in a spot in a big moment, you just can bet on the pulse,” Roberts said of Freese. “He’s obviously come up with some big hits for us in such a short period of time. But obviously this is probably the biggest one. We’re lucky to have him.”

The Dodger skipper had equally high praise of Machado.

“You look back at this series, his two homers essentially led us to two wins,” said Roberts. “We have a lot of good players, but I can’t say enough about his focus and preparedness.”

Although Dodgers left-hander Rich Hill did not figure in the decision, the 38-year old Boston, Massachusetts native pitched well in his 4.1 innings of work. The 14-year MLB veteran allowed only two runs on two hits, while walking five and striking out three. He was replaced by Madson, the Dodgers’ recently acquired other 38-year-old pitcher, with one out in the fifth inning. In his 0.2 innings pitched, the Long Beach, California native did not allow a run or hit, and by virtue of timing, ended up earning the win.

But perhaps of bigger interest for Dodger fans is that previously struggling (and oft-criticized) Dodgers right-hander Pedro Baez, who replaced Madson in the bottom of the sixth inning, continued in his renaissance back to the Pedro Baez of old. The 30-year-old Bani, Dominican Republic native also did not allow a run, hit, or walk in his 1.1 innings of work on Monday, while consistently hitting 97-mph with his fastball. Simply put, the extremely quiet, hard-throwing right-hander couldn’t have picked a better time to be better again.

In his final 7.2 innings pitched in the 2018 regular season and thus far through his 2.1 innings of work in the postseason, Baez has not allowed a run – earned or otherwise – while striking out five and three respectively.
(Video capture courtesy of Fox FS1)

The Dodgers returned home to LA late Monday night and will take Tuesday off. They will then work out at Dodger Stadium on Wednesday and fly to Milwaukee on Thursday to work out at Miller Park in preparation for Game-1 of the National League Championship Series against the Brewers, which begins on Friday evening, October 12, at 5:09 p.m. PT.

Although there has been no official announcement from the team as to the Dodgers starting rotation for the best-of-seven NLCS, Roberts let the cat out of the bag shortly after Monday’s NLDS-clenching game as to who his starter will be for Game-1 of the NLCS.

The games will be carried live on either Fox or FS1.

Your 2018 National League Division Series champion Dodgers.
(Photo credit – Jon SooHoo – Click on image to enlarge)

Play Ball!