LOS ANGELES – Baseball gods, if you’re listening, please. Let Friday be a reminder of what a Braves vs. Dodgers best-of-seven National League Championship Series could bring.
Not to overstate the value of a largely inconsequential May meeting, but what an introduction to the weekend. The Braves and Dodgers, while neither was perfect, showed the gritty charm that’s made both routine division winners.
The Braves lost to the Dodgers, 4-3, in 11 innings when rookie Andy Pages dropped a bloop single into shallow center field.
“It was about getting the big hit, and they got one more than we did,” Braves manager Brian Snitker said.
It was a bitter defeat for the Braves, but what a compelling three hours. It’s hard not to imagine a similar game being played in the fall. One where the stakes are much greater than one of 162. Friday showed what little margin for error these clubs have facing each other. It felt like more than just another random close game; it was two equals trading punches.
For the Braves, third baseman Austin Riley blasted a homer. Reigning MVP Ronald Acuña hit the game-tying shot in the eighth. The team pitched itself out of some dangerous spots. Braves starter Charlie Morton, the ageless wonder, more than held his own against the Dodgers’ MVP trio of Mookie Betts, Shohei Ohtani and Freddie Freeman, too.
For the Dodgers, their much-maligned bullpen was pretty good. And Ohtani – the team’s prized offseason acquisition – had the game-tying hit off Braves closer Raisel Iglesias in the 10th. Newcomer Teoscar Hernandez homered. Catcher Will Smith had a key hit that scored Ohtani.
“You know how good Shohei is,” Morton said. “And you know how good they’ve been for a long time now. Those guys step in the box and I’ve faced some really, really good lineups with that team, and they’re no different over there. Sure, it’s a different look a little bit, but they’ve always been tough.”
Perhaps most impressive of all, Pages had four hits. The Braves have long succeeded with production from unsung heroes. They maximize every individual on their roster. The only team that has consistently done the same is the Dodgers, and Pages is the latest example.
Snitker raved about the Dodgers’ development system before the game. Everyone cites the team’s payroll, rightfully so, but L.A. does masterful work complementing the big-money stars with in-house talent.
“They do a good job,” Riley told The Atlanta Journal-Constitution. “They’re one of the best teams in the league and have been for a while. There’s a reason for that. What I noticed (with Pages) is the confidence and poise he had there at the plate. That was the first time I’d seen him, pretty impressive with his at-bats.”
These teams embody winning culture. They display persistence, confidence, a relentlessness only fortified by their immense talent. For the past several years, these have been the best two teams in MLB (October Madness notwithstanding). They might be the two best teams again in 2024.
“It definitely feels (like there are) more butterflies, postseason atmosphere,” reliever A.J. Minter told the AJC. “Obviously, playing against good players makes you pick up your game as well. It has a different feeling to it.”
Even with both teams sorting through issues, even with both still trying to steady themselves, they show the qualities that make them so difficult to upend. There are plenty who hate the Braves – especially those in Philadelphia and New York – and there are plenty who hate the Dodgers – San Francisco, San Diego and most of America may qualify – but everyone should respect these teams’ consistency.
Now, the franchises won’t get too enthused by a single early-season game when there are still fresh wounds from recent Octobers. The Braves and Dodgers, for all their brilliance, are a combined 3-12 in the last two postseasons – against division opponents that finished behind them in the standings, making the regular season feel even less meaningful.
Think about it: The Braves opened the season in Philadelphia, where they took two of three. Yet it felt overshadowed by the team’s 0-4 record at the same venue over the past two postseasons. The Dodgers just won a series in Arizona, but they do that often; just not last October, when they were swept.
In a 162-game season, each contest can only be considered so valuable. Even when these behemoths face each other, the thought is more about how they could match up in five months, not today.
So even with 50,000 roaring at Chavez Ravine, even with All-Stars upon All-Stars gracing both lineups, even with their recent history, it’s impossible to get too worked up over any event or result. One can’t capture the postseason’s essence in May.
Both teams possess absurdly high expectations. They’re World Series or bust; perhaps only the Phillies, who’ve leaped the Braves in the NL East standings, and the Yankees also carry that sentiment.
“There are a handful of teams that you go to, or when they come to you, it feels like playoff baseball. This is one of them,” Riley told the AJC. “I think the talent that’s on both sides of the field, and the history with both organizations, and you combine that with the fans, all that together, it makes for really fun baseball. You get to size yourself up with one of the better teams.”
This should be an entertaining weekend. Maybe it’s a preview for an even better October – the Braves and Dodgers would sure welcome that.
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