Injuries, exhaustion and poor strategy doomed the Dodgers, who lost the crown in Atlanta
Eddie Rosario hits the plate after hitting a three-run homer for the Braves in the fourth inning of Game 6.
Photo: Kevin C. Cox / Getty Images
Eddie Rosario had already shown in the first five games of the series that his bat was red hot, hot as is rarely seen in the postseason. The Puerto Rican player who reached the Atlanta Braves in a trade at the end of July had mistreated the pitching of the Dodgers and no pitcher had really been able to figure out how to master it.
With all that in mind, the Dodgers nonetheless decided to pitch Rosario in a fateful fourth inning Saturday in Game 6 of the National League Championship Series .
Atlanta had runners on second and third with two outs. Walker Buehler, the pitcher, couldn’t strike out Rosario with a few pitches outside, so he tried an inside pitch and the grown Puerto Rican blew the wall to make the score 4-1, an advantage that would ultimately prevail in the win (4 -2) that has the Braves back in the World Series after a drought of 21 years.
Manager Dave Roberts could have walked Rosario (who hit in the series for.
, with 14 hits and 26 total bases) because first base was unoccupied, but Freddie Freeman’s presence in the holding circle took effect. The Dodgers manager did not dare to load the bases and preferred to face the most dangerous batter in Atlanta.
Roberts was wrong and will have to deal with that decision in a long cold winter for him and Los Angeles.
The Dodgers couldn’t count on Max Scherzer, his best pitcher
The champions of 2020 in the end they could not overcome so many injuries and exhaustion in an unusual playoffs for a team that won 106 games in the regular season.
Max’s absence Scherzer as the starter of Saturday’s game was the last calamity for the Dodgers in an injury-plagued October . The favorite to win the Cy Young Trophy was unable to recover from what he called a “dead arm” in Game 2 of the series, when he was sent in by Roberts to start without enough rest.
Already the Dodgers had already lost this month to injuries to Max Muncy, their best gunner; Justin Turner, his playoff record man, and Joe Kelly, one of his best relievers. Running out of “Mad Max” was too much.
The Dodgers had one last chance Saturday. It was in the seventh inning as he scored his second run and put runners on second and third with no outs. But left-hander Tyler Matzek relieved and struck out Albert Pujols, Steven Souza Jr. and Mookie Betts in order, requiring only 11 shots. That’s where the Dodgers died.
The absurd decision to put Julio Urías as reliever
However, it can be argued that this series was lost by the Dodgers since last week by a strategic decision that will be difficult to swallow for fans of the legendary franchise.
After losing the first game being left lying on the ground , the Dodgers led 4-2 in the eighth inning of the second game. So Roberts did the unthinkable: instead of calling one of his reliable available relievers, he sent Julio Urías to the hill .
Although the Mexican was spectacular as a reliever in the playoffs last year, in the regular season of 2021 only pitched as a starter. In the fifth and decisive game of the Division Series against San Francisco appeared as a reliever , but in a very different situation when entering the third inning.
The fact is that the Braves tied the game. Uriah and an inning later they won. Roberts not only ruined that important second game of the series in Atlanta , but the questionable handling had other visible consequences in the following matches. 1348333157 Urías opened in the fourth game and was exhausted , taking a beating for a Los Angeles loss.
Even today, many are wondering if Roberts’ decision to send Scherzer to work the last inning of Game 5 against the Giants when he had other relievers available was perhaps an unnecessary luxury and it is what ended up knocking him out in the Championship Series.
The Dodgers have been out and given their crown. The 260 wins of the season no longer count. The $ 260 million dollars payroll – 100 million more than the Braves- they did not reach .
Failure is undeniable and those inexplicable decisions have a lot to do with it.
