12:59 AM ET
Jeff PassanESPN
CloseESPN MLB insiderAuthor of “The Arm: Inside the Billion-Dollar Mystery of one of the most Valuable Commodity in Sports”
ARLINGTON, Texas– One night after a record-setting run-scoring efficiency, the Los Angeles Dodgers couldnt muster more than one hit versus a novice with 7 career starts and are now on the verge of getting bounced from the National League Championship Series.
The Atlanta Braves Bryse Wilson, who hadnt pitched in nearly three weeks, threw six one-hit innings and held the advantage his offense offered off a shaky Clayton Kershaw in a 10-2 victory Thursday at Globe Life Field. Atlanta leads the series 3-1 and will have three possibilities at securing its very first World Series berth because 1999.
A stout 22-year-old right-hander with a linebackers construct– and mindset– Wilson formerly pitched Sept. 27, the Braves last regular-season game, and wasnt even called Atlantas Game 4 starter until Wednesday. He challenged the Dodgers all night with a variety of fastballs and was assisted sometimes by the winds that gusted throughout the stadium, which had its retractable roof open. Aside from Edwin Rios second-inning home run, the Dodgers– who had scored 11 in the very first inning of Game 3 to set a postseason record for runs in one frame– experienced the exact same magically vanishing offense versus Wilson that pestered them in Games 1 and 2.
Wilson started out five and walked one over an efficient 6 innings that took just 74 pitches, many of them four-seam fastballs as well as cutters and sinkers that relocated opposing instructions. Manager Brian Snitker pulled him before the seventh, owing to his absence of activity and the bullpens quality. The Dodgers handled just 3 hits in the game, and the Game 4 loss enables the Braves to keep their leading 2 beginners, Max Fried and Ian Anderson, on complete rest for prospective Games 6 and 7.
Thats about all I can say,” stated Snitker, who came into the video game hopeful that Wilson would last at least four innings. … The kid had not pitched in three weeks.
1 RelatedKershaw, who missed his scheduled Game 2 start since of back spasms, was outdueling Wilson before Marcell Ozuna homered off him in the 4th. Two innings later, Kershaws night fell apart in a rush. Ronald Acuna Jr. legged out an infield single, Freddie Freeman smashed an RBI double and Ozuna chased Kershaw with another run-scoring double. He wound up coming around, along with two others, to ugly up Kershaws line and the scoreboard. The Braves led 6-1, and Kershaw exited with another bad playoff performance: five innings, 7 hits, 4 runs, one walk, four strikeouts.
” To be able to do it as someone as reputable as Clayton Kershaw is– its a fantastic honor to be able to pitch against him,” Wilson stated.
With Cole Hamels shoulder sidelining him at the end of the season, Wilsons Sept. 22 start of five shutout innings against the Miami Marlins clinched the NL East and helped protect the Braves the No. 2 seed in the NL playoffs. In that game, he stated, “I was able to establish a big level of confidence that I felt like I didnt have before.
A stout 22-year-old right-hander with a linebackers develop– and mentality– Wilson previously pitched Sept. 27, the Braves final regular-season game, and wasnt even called Atlantas Game 4 starter till Wednesday. Aside from Edwin Rios second-inning home run, the Dodgers– who had actually scored 11 in the very first inning of Game 3 to set a postseason record for runs in one frame– suffered from the exact same amazingly disappearing offense versus Wilson that afflicted them in Games 1 and 2.
The Dodgers managed just three hits in the video game, and the Game 4 loss allows the Braves to keep their top two starters, Max Fried and Ian Anderson, on complete rest for potential Games 6 and 7.
Thats about all I can state,” stated Snitker, who came into the video game hopeful that Wilson would last at least four innings. Acuna, Freeman and Ozzie Albies, all signed and developed by the Braves, each had 2 hits in Game 4, and the Braves compiled 14.
Atlantas World Series dry spell of more than 20 years follows a stretch in which it played in five of 8 World Series, winning simply one, versus Cleveland in 1995. The Braves resurgence, sustained by a core of homegrown talent, is peaking during this postseason, during which theyre 8-1. Acuna, Freeman and Ozzie Albies, all signed and established by the Braves, each had two hits in Game 4, and the Braves compiled 14.
The Dodgers only rally came in the seventh inning, when they tracked 7-2 and packed the bases. Pinch hitter Will Smith hit a soared the middle, however Albies was moved into an ideal spot and didnt require to move to snag the line drive. Tyler Matzek and Shane Greene held the Dodgers scoreless over the last two innings to put them on the verge of elimination.
Theyll return with hard-throwing Dustin May in Game 5 on Friday against whats likely a bullpen game from Atlanta that might feature Kyle Wright, whom the Dodgers went after throughout the very first inning of their outburst Wednesday. Video game 6 would feature Fried versus Walker Buehler and Game 7 Anderson versus Tony Gonsolin, though both teams most likely would take an all-hands-on-deck approach– one that might include Wilson returning on short rest.
