Michael Harris II leads Braves to 3-2 win over Dodgers in Game 2 to tie NLDS
“Getting the split in this place against these guys, yeah, it’s awesome,” Braves manager Walt Weiss said.
Harris' RBI double to right against reliever Edgardo Henriquez added an insurance run with two outs in the seventh in what turned into a bullpen game for both teams when the Braves chased Dodgers starter Blake Snell after 3 2/3 innings — his shortest postseason start since 2022 with San Diego.
Harris also singled in the third, coming up a home run short of hitting for the cycle.
“Michael had a great game,” Weiss said. “Postseason, you never know what’s going to happen. There’s no blueprint. There’s no playbook. There seems to always be unsung heroes in the postseason.”
Max Muncy's two-strike, two-out homer off Didier Fuentes pulled the Dodgers to 3-2 in the ninth. Braves closer Raisel Igelsias, their fifth reliever, earned his second save after getting pinch-hitter Josue De Paula to foul out to third to end the game.
“They’re going to use any pitcher, try to get every matchup possible,” Dodgers manager Dave Roberts said. “They're going to ride certain guys, and obviously they use their bullpen accordingly.”
Runs were hard to come by after the teams combined for five homers in the Dodgers’ 5-3 victory in Game 1.
After Mookie Betts walked and Shohei Ohtani singled to open the fifth, Atlanta's bullpen retired the next 14 consecutive Dodgers' hitters.
Los Angeles stranded seven runners on base over the first five innings. Ohtani, the four-time MVP, wasn’t a factor for the second straight game, going 1 for 4 with two strikeouts.
"If you look at the at-bats, there’s a lot of chase,” Roberts said. “It’s hard to square up, put good swings on balls that are out of the zone.”
The Braves retook the lead, 2-1, on Bubic’s wild pitch after Harris' two-out triple, his first ever in the postseason.
Freddie Freeman tied it at 1 on a two-strike solo shot off Braves reliever Grant Holmes in the fourth while facing his former team for the first time in the postseason.
“We got to find a way to score some runs without hitting a home run. That's our biggest thing right now,” Freeman said. “Get guys on base, get that big hit and hope that our pitching keeps doing good.”
Snell struggled throughout, never finding a rhythm. The two-time Cy Young Award winner threw 90 pitches and only 47 for strikes. He gave up one run and three hits, walked five and struck out five.
Snell needed 27 pitches to get through the first, when he had only three more strikes thrown than balls. He wasn't available to speak with media after the game, having left the ballpark due to a family emergency, a team spokesman said.
The Braves led 1-0 on Mauricio Dubón’s bases-loaded, two-strike single to shortstop with two outs in the first. Betts made a diving stop, but his throw to first was too late, allowing Ronald Acuña Jr. to score after singling and stealing second.
Ray Kerr started the game for the Braves, who elected to give Chris Sale extra rest ahead of his start in Game 3.
Roki Sasaki, the Dodgers' sixth reliever, loaded the bases in the eighth on a walk, hit by pitch and an intentional walk with one out. Acuña hit into an inning-ending double play.
Up next
After a travel day, Braves LHP Chris Sale starts Game 3 on Tuesday in Atlanta against Dodgers RHP Yoshinobu Yamamoto.
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