tHE dodgers JUST TOOK THE ADVANTAGE BACK!

No matter how much I bitch about the lack of hitting wRISP, and the team's too much reliance on the HR, the Dodgers do it again. Yes, a couple of hits early would have made the game a little less nerve-racking, but what would this team be without the angst. Kiké and Freddie provided the runs, but Yama was the star in this game. 7.0 IP, 1 run, 4 hits, 1 BB, and 10K. Yama gave up the same number of runs as he did the last game against Atlanta, but this time the Dodgers scored 3 off Sale, and that was all Yama needed. Yama is a warrior.

Tanner Scott and Edwin Díaz weren’t perfect, but they were effective. I really liked that Doc left Diaz in the game. He is going to need Diaz to believe in himself. Doc gave him confidence, now how long can Diaz ride that confidence?

Pages had some funny swings, but he did get a pair of hits. One of the hits was pivotal as it preceded Kiké’s HR.

Mookie got it going right away. He needs to stay at the top of the order. He is back to being a catalyst.

I know it seems like a popular play to insert JDP into the DH spot for a struggling (hurt) Ohtani. I might be in the minority, but I am not taking Shohei out. You don’t turn away from the stars.

That last pick by Freddie is the reason why I always wonder why some here seem in such a hurry to replace him, many even by next year. Frankly, I want Freddie at first base for as long as Mookie is playing shortstop so Freddie can save Mookie from a ton of throwing errors. Plus, it appears that he can still hit when the need arises.

HEART of a Champion.

Get well soon BEAR.

What a entertaining game to watch. Sale started out dominating the Dodger hitters as expected. Though in the second inning Dodger hitters were starting to make some solid contact. This continued in the third inning. I started to feel that the Dodger hitters had a real chance to overcome Sale's dominance and increase his pitch count. In the fourth Pages got on board with a single and Kiki backed that up with a much anticipated, playoff HR! Two batters later Freddie walloped what should have been his second HR of the game if not for Dubon's great catch in the first inning. This quick offensive output confirmed my feelings that Sale could be defeated and he was not long for this game.

It's amazing that all the Dodger runs are from the result of a HR. It's playoff baseball where it's very difficult to string together 3-4-5 hits together. And it's not just the Dodgers. We're seeing it in almost every playoff game.

Those three runs was all that Yamamoto needed as he completely shut down the Atlanta hitters. This guy is a warrior and it's fun to watch him use every pitch in his arsenal to get hitters out. As Smoltz mentioned the hitters have no idea what's coming. His out pitch could be any one of the five pitches.

If Ohtani is hurt then for the good of the team and fans get him out of the lineup. Like today! It's hard to believe I would prefer a 21 year old rookie over the "best player in baseball history". Right now Ohtani is showing continued poor pitch recognition and uncompetitive at bats. At least DePaula shown he has better pitch recognition than Ohtani and is certainly more entertaining to watch right now. When Ohtani is at bat the questions are how will he make an out and how foolish will he look doing so. It's disheartening watching this superstar be so ineffective and uninteresting. Kyle Tucker seems to have gotten his act together and his poor at bats have been replaced by Ohtani.

Despite Ohtani's woes The Dodgers are doing just enough offensively to move on to the next round. But, with the Dodgers it probably won't come easy. As long as the offense uses the HR to score most of their runs, it's their starting pitching will be the determining factor in winning a third straight WS title.

Carry on.

Get well Bear. As far as the game goes: Yet another nailbiter. The Dodgers in the last years really have been hard on our health. The last out was a great defensive play on both ends by Mookie and Freddie. Just as good as the home run robbery by Dubon. Without it the Dodgers would have coasted. Both plays show how important good defense is in the playoffs especially. Yama was nails again and Kiktober has returned. Lets see if we can clinch today behind Glasnow. I certainly do not need the adrenalin of a game 5.

Both Kike and Muncy have hit Mahle well. Maybe Kike at 2B tomorrow?

Get well soon, Bear.

Just a great great bounceback performance after the G2 disappointment.

Ace of aces Yamamoto outpitched a nasty Sale. Our at-bats were focussed and grinding. Key HRs obviously paved the way but we threatened early and often.

Scott is perfectly cast as an 8th inning power arm. Kudos to Diaz for slamming the door.

Next man up.

Roberts has some serious balls using Díaz in the ninth. If Diaz would have blown the lead the fans would have gone absolutely nuts.

It appears the Boomer Doomers are in a much better mood today (I can't take credit for the term "Boomer Doomer," but I find it hysterical, so I'm taking it). Suddenly the Dodgers aren't too old, home runs are ok, and it's not mandatory that they pay homage to old school proper baseball etiquette and score by bunting for a base hit, stealing second on a hit and run play, executing a double steal, and scoring on a bloop single, fly ball, or squeeze play.

Yes, people, it's ok to like home runs. Stop worrying and learn to love the long ball. After all, we like scoring runs. Scoring runs is good. It allows the Dodgers to win baseball games, which is what we want, yes? I don't know that there's a "proper" way of doing it, so I'll enjoy it.

And some of you respond as if the Dodgers are the only team in the playoffs who aren't perfect, who have guys banged up, who make blunders, who sometimes struggle to put together hits with RISP. Could you imagine being a Yankees fan right now? All teams struggle with the same things.

Are the Dodgers older. Of course. However, think of their current dynasty as a bell curve. It took them a while to put all the pieces together, and they had some bitter losses to the Bosox and Nationals, but there were a couple of pieces to add. That curve was on the upswing. They signed Ohtani, they signed Betts, they signed Freeman, they signed Yamamoto, which, in a world of FA signings like Gerrit Cole and Jacob DeGrom, is perhaps the best FA pitcher signing ever.

They reached the apogee of that curve the last couple of years, and, as the years have passed, are just now entering the downward slope of that curve. But that also means they still have a lot of baseball left. They're still a great team.

There are things the Dodgers may do in the offseason to make the team younger and have more contact (and you want to trade JDP?). No use complaining about that now. And there's exactly a snowball's chance in hell Ohtani gets benched. This is the team the Dodgers have, and we're going to ride it.

And I hope you feel better soon, Bear. I want an article on the history of small ball with the Dodgers in the playoffs.

If they remove Rojas from the roster for the rest of this series he will be ineligible for the league championship series.

Seems there is a lot of chatter about the Dodgers hitting philosophy. My observation is the Dodgers swing at to many pitches out of the zone. This includes everyone. I can’t blame them. A pitch coming in at 100 mph with movement would be hard to determine if it’s a inch or two off the plate. Hitting is hard. If there is a way to teach hitters how to stay off of pitches that weren’t strikes the founder of such theory would be a very rich man. The Dodgers are aggressive hitters so they are going to swing at pitches out of the zone.

I read where people want the Dodgers to play more small ball. I think we are asking something that they can’t do. I’m old school and believe everyone should be taught and/or is capable of bunting. The Dodgers don’t seem to have that skill set. Asking someone to do something they aren’t good at doing is a bad formula. I love following the Dodgers farm system. I’m no where close to Jeff in knowledge of the minor league teams but it is my observation that at least the top three levels the Dodgers don’t bunt or play small ball.

The Atlanta bloggers are complaining about similar stuff that we do. Can’t hit, can’t hit with RISP, AND can’t hit homers. So I guess it’s better to score off the long ball than not score at all. But this is who we are. Have been the last 5 years in the post season. We ride or die with our pitching and just enough slug. Don’t expect a breakout against Mahle so Glasnow is gonna have to bring his A game and we have a rested pen behind him. And Skubal for game 5 if needed. We’re in the drivers seat,

Where is Max Muncy?!

The Dodger offense is clearly HR dependent and our leading HR hitter has not even started the past 2 games.

I know the reason. But it’s interesting to me that when I point out Max’s inability to effectively hit LH pitchers, folks here are quick to suggest Max hits lefty’s and righty’s equally. Nonsense. If that were the case he would be starting every game.

I love Rojas, but we depend on the long ball to win.

I've read all the comments and takes on last night's game. I concur and agree with most comments but disagree with the "confidence" that some have in Robert's managing skills. Again, I disagree with his lefty/righty use. Do starting pitchers worry about the batter being lefty or righty? No, the pitcher and catcher have a game plan for all the batters. I also wish that Robert's would play more small ball, especially against an opposing pitcher who is on his game, bunt to take him off his rhythm. Dodgers were fortunate to win last night because some of them looked bad at the plate.

Could we ever put up a crooked number n the first inning?

No class Atlanta fans booing Freeman.

I’m watching the White Sox-Guardians game. I couldn’t help but notice how much Murakami’s mannerisms at bat resemble Shohei’s.

It’s amazing how thin the starting pitching is in this years playoffs. As opposed to the incredible depth in our rotation. Sheehan and Wrobo could be 3’s on many playoff teams.

6:00 PM ET FOX SPORTS 1

Dodgers (100-62) (2-1) Braves (94-68) (1-2)

SP Tyler Glasnow R 5-2 3.53 ERA SP Tyler Mahle R 7-10 3.99 ERA

Confirmed Lineup SS Mookie Betts R 1B F. Freeman L C Will Smith R DH S. Ohtani L LF T. Hernandez R 3B Max Muncy L 2B E. Hernandez R RF Kyle Tucker L CF Andy Pages R

77° Wind 3 mph In LINE LAD -156

Glasnow is 2-1 in six games vs the Braves with a 2.48 ERA in 32.2 innings pitched. He has given up 3 homers struck out 46 and walked 9. Mahle is 3-3 vs LA in 10 games with a 3.15 ERA in 45.2 innings pitched. He has allowed just 2 homers, struck out 33 and walked 16. He is 1-0 against LA this year with no runs allowed in 7 innings pitched.

A great win. We know that managers NEVER want to use rookies in the playoffs. And it would take a lot for Ohtani to be benched (even though he seems to wince all the time) So I don't expect to see JDP as DH instead of him. But would love to see him instead of Teo tonite.

Every professional ballplayer will gut it out, especially in Oct. even to the detriment of the team. It's how they're wired. Unless of couse you are Max Scherzer. So look for Shohei to keep grinding. Of the reserves, only Kike and Miggy will spot start, sans injuries. Book em

Wednesday thoughts (1). Freddie is still Freddie when healthy. (2). Mookie has piss and vinegar in his blood. (3). Kike just earned his salary for the year in one game! (4). Rojas is not expendable. It would be a bad, bad loss. (5). Tucker ? Still believe he’s going to be big this postseason. So far so good! (6). Will Smith has been very quiet so far. Today he breaks out! (7). Teo needs to come back today too! (8). Edman looks lost at the plate. (9). Funny watching Pages at the plate. He wants to tap that helmet so bad! Maybe Doc finally got through to him. (10). Ohtani? Is it time to sit him? I guess that’s up to him and Doc. Right now he’s dead weight. But that could change in the next AB. (11). Yamamoto will go down in history as one of the greatest postseason pitchers ever. And he’s a long ways away from being done! (12). Tucker and Diaz . The reasons people have heart attacks! (13). Kenny Albert? I guess it could be worse. (14). If Rojas is down, could Kim see some time at second base? Defensively he can deliver the mail. Offensively? Can’t be any worse than Ohtani is presently. (15). Who would replace Rojas on the roster? Freeland or Call. I say Freeland. More versatility. (16). Does Arod make anyone else vomit? (17). Will Mason Miller be welcomed back with open arms after missing last night’s game? King took his place in the ninth. Just curious what others think. A baby is special! (18). If the Rays finish off the Yankees, will it finally be the end for Aaron Boone? (19). It’s unbelievable that the white Sox are 5 wins away from the World Series! (20). Contreras is sure begging for a padres pitcher to drill him after his home run trot. Or should I say home run strut. He put on a show! Some of the old school pitchers would crack that helmet!

Bear, hope you feel better soon! Really miss your posts and your brilliant work. Just like Yogi, you’re the smartest Bear in the woods! GET WELL SOON!!!

Time to bury the Braves.

Assuming Skubal would pitch G1 again, do you stick with the same rotation order?

I too am rooting for the Madres. But I have skin in the game. Most of my friends are diehard Madre fans. Book em