The best Braves player other than Dale Murphy to have never played in the World Series is halfway there.
If Freddie Freeman finally reaches baseball’s biggest stage it will be because his mighty bat produced. The Braves have mastered the Dodgers in the first two games of this NL Championship Series, and Freeman has cranked out the loudest hits.
On Tuesday, the All-Star first baseman smashed his second homer in as many games and drove in three runs, leading the Braves to an 8-7 victory in Game 2 at Globe Life Field in Arlington, Texas. The win gave Atlanta a 2-0 lead in the best-of-seven series.
Freeman’s two-run homer against Tony Gonsolin in the fourth inning ignited the fire, as the Braves won their seventh straight game to begin this postseason.
“[Freeman] just keeps reiterating why he’s the MVP, right?” Braves close Mark Melancon said.
Freeman posted an 1.102 OPS during the regular season in leading the Braves to the NL East title.
“The guy is healthy and he’s had a great year and he’s continuing it now,” Braves manager Brian Snitker said.
Gonsolin received the start for the Dodgers after Clayton Kershaw was scratched because of back spasms, which likely will push the lefty’s next start to Game 4 at the earliest.
The Dodgers trailed 7-0 in the seventh inning before awakening. Cody Bellinger’s RBI triple in the ninth pulled the Dodgers within a run before Melancon recorded the final out. Max Muncy’s two-run homer against Josh Tomlin was the inning’s big hit.
“I didn’t feel good with a big lead because these guys are too powerful,” Snitker said.
Most of the Braves’ damage occurred during a 33-minute top of the fifth inning in which they sent nine batters to the plate against three pitchers and scored four runs to take a 6-0 lead.
Cristian Pache, in the starting lineup following Adam Duvall’s season-ending oblique injury a night earlier, stroked an RBI double past a diving Justin Turner to bring in the inning’s first run. Pache’s hit was the second of his major league career. After Ronald Acuna Jr. walked, ending Gonsolin’s night, Freeman singled against Pedro Baez to put the Dodgers in a 4-0 hole.
Baez walked Marcell Ozuna and Travis d’Arnaud in succession, forcing in another run. Ozzie Albies hit a drive to center that Bellinger snared with a leaping catch for a sacrifice fly that gave the Braves their sixth run.
Ian Anderson struggled with his control over four shutout innings, in which he walked five and allowed one hit. The Braves rookie right-hander walked two batters in the first, helping run his pitch count to 29 by inning’s conclusion. The big play was Freeman stretching to secure Austin Riley’s offline throw while keeping his foot on the base to record the final out. Anderson’s scoreless streak this postseason stands at 15 ²/₃ innings.
“This one is almost one you can take a little bit more pride in,” Anderson said. “That’s a good lineup and really having to battle through that and pull out a huge team win, it’s one I will probably look back on however this ends up going.”
Ozzie Albies homered in the ninth to extend the Braves’ lead to 8-3. The Braves had tacked on a run in the seventh with Dansby Swanson’s RBI double. Both late runs became important.
Corey Seager launched a three-run shot in the seventh against A.J. Minter to start the Dodgers’ comeback.