*  *  *  

“Momentum is only as good as tomorrow’s starting pitcher.”

Hall of Fame manager Earl Weaver

  *  *  *  

The good news is that the Dodgers won Game-6 of the National League Championship Series over the Atlanta Braves on Saturday at Globe Life Field in Arlington, TX, by a score of 3-1 to force a deciding Game-7 on Sunday.

The bad news is that the Dodgers scored all three of their runs on five first-inning hits, including back-to-back solo home runs by shortstop Corey Seager and third baseman Justin Turner.

In other words, they went a collective 5-for-25 after the first inning for a combined 9-for-32 on the day; and aside from those two home runs, they had zero extra-base hits. They also went 1-for-6 with runners in scoring position while stranding 10 runners on base.

Do you see the problem here? In the simplest of terms, the Dodgers will enter Sunday’s ‘Win-or-Go-Home’ Game-7 with ice-cold bats.

But hey, a win is a win, right? And Sunday’s game will begin with a score of 0-0, Right?

Right indeed.

Fortunately, Seager, the Dodgers hottest hitter throughout the 2020 postseason, sees it a little different.

“The whole goal is to win. We haven’t done that yet,” said Seager, who set a new record for most home runs and most RBI in the NLCS at five and 11 respectively with one game remaining.

Cold bats notwithstanding, it’s difficult – if not impossible – to argue that the ridiculously incredible – if not impossible – plays that Dodgers superstar right fielder and future Hall of Famer Mookie Betts has made on defense thus far through the NLCS haven’t been huge momentum boosters for the Dodgers.

With two outs and a runner on first in the top of the fifth inning on Saturday, Braves designated hitter Marcell Ozuna crushed a Walker Buehler 83-mph hanging curveball to (very) deep right field. Although it appeared that the ball was going to stay in the yard, it had double or possibly even triple written all over it. But Betts, who timed his running, twisting leap perfectly, made yet another spectacular catch for the final out of the inning to rob Ozuna and the Braves of what would have easily been the Braves’ first run of the game.

“That’s an unbelievable play by an unbelievable player in a big moment,” said Seager of Betts’ catch. “That’s what you need to win baseball games at this time of year.”

During his postgame Zoom media conference, Dodgers manager Dave Roberts was asked how he would rank Betts’ spectacular leaping catch on Saturday with his spectacular running catch on Friday for a game-changing double play.

“A tick behind last night’s play, but it just shows the athleticism,” Roberts answered. “Right there, Walker was kind of stressing a little bit. And so to make that play to get out of it … was huge. He just impacts the game in so many ways.”

Speaking of Buehler, all the 26-year-old Lexington, KY native and Dodgers first-round draft pick in 2015 out of Vanderbilt University did was limit the National League East champion Atlanta Braves to zero runs and only seven hits, with no walks and six strikeouts over his six brilliant innings of work. He also escaped a bases-loaded/no-out situation in the top of the second inning without allowing a run.

“He doesn’t panic and loves the great moments,” Roberts said postgame. “The great ones make great pitches and big pitches in big spots. And he’s done that time and time again.”

Do the Dodgers have enough momentum to pull off a Game-7 win over the Braves on Sunday to advance to the 2020 World Series against the Tampa Bay Rays?

According to Hall of Fame manager Earl Weaver, that will depend on who Dodgers manager Dave Roberts hands the ball to.

Stay tuned…

  *  *  *  *  *  *