#1. Atlanta Braves vs Los Angeles Dodgers
Biggest Moment: Manny Machado‘s 2-run home run in the 1st
The nightcap of #4GameFriday between the Los Angeles Dodgers and Atlanta Braves was a low-scoring affair as the Boys in Blue won in shutout fashion by a score of 3-0.
Before going over the biggest moment of the game, I must tip my cap to Clayton Kershaw, who overcame his stigma of being a “bad” postseason pitcher by twirling eight innings of no-run ball while giving up just two hits and no walks. The Dodgers’ ace was his vintage self as he dismantled the Braves with so much ease one would think he was facing a high school team.
While Kersh stifled the Braves’ offense the entire game, the Dodgers started the scoring off right away as rental acquisition Manny Machado hit a towering 2-run blast to give L.A. the lead in the first inning.
Heading into Friday’s game, Machado was .467 with three long balls off of Braves’ Game 2 starter Anibal Sanchez, which makes one question why the Braves started him in the first place. Catcher Yasmani Grandal hit a solo shot later in the night, but Machado’s homer served as the team’s biggest moment as the Braves had little chance to surmount a comeback against Kershaw after that.
After being the first NL team to clinch a postseason berth, the Atlanta Braves are one game away from elimination as they’ve scored ZERO runs in their two losses to start the postseason. They’ll hope to bounce back Sunday, but it seems like nothing can stop the Boys in Blue at the moment.
#4GameFriday was one heck of a day for baseball fans, and one can only hope the rest of the postseason is as riveting as the games we saw on Friday.