All of my superstitious tendencies from my baseball days were beginning to come back. They always do in a tight playoff game when the enemy has tying runs in scoring position. I noticed that every time I started listening to the game on the radio....the Dodgers started playing badly. Giving up hits, or just not fielding the ball properly. But funnily enough, when I turned the radio off and opted to get updates through my phone, they started playing well again!
I was driving around listening to the Dodgers play the Braves on some good ole AM radio because first pitch of this incredibly important playoff game took place at the odd hour of 1:30 PM LA Time/ 4:30 PM Eastern. The majority of the city was in the middle of their workday periodically checking the score on their phone, or just saying "F%!& it. I'm going to stream this. I don't care if my boss sees me."
I'm no scientist but according to the Transitive Property of Baseball Superstitions, the Dodgers clearly played better when I wasn't tuning in to the action on the radio. So when the Braves had multiple baserunners on and all the momentum in the 8th, I turned that dial off despite how badly I wanted to listen to the action. I wasn't going to be the one responsible for making my team lose!!! Sure enough, after I turned the radio off the Dodgers got the final out of the 8th. Not only that but the Dodgers scored all their runs of the afternoon in the random moments where I had the radio off. That's all the empirical evidence I need. After they closed out the 8th, they walked away with a 6-2 Game 4 victory one inning later over the Atlanta Braves. Moral of the story: trust your baseball intuition.
Manny Machado struck first against Braves starter Mike Foltynewicz. With Max Muncy on first, Machado singled him home from alllllll the way around the basepath for the first score of the game in the first inning, 1-0 Dodgers. The Braves (who came into this game with all the momentum after their 5-6 Game 3 victory) struck back in a huge way with a Kurt Suzuki pinch-hit double in the bottom of the fourth that brought in two runners. 2-1 Braves. Things got pretty quiet with the Dodger bats for two tense innings, but former Pittsburgh Pirate David Freese (who the Dodgers acquired mid-season for a minor leaguer) just hit the perfect dribbler up the middle for a 2-run go-ahead single that gave the Dodgers the lead, 3-2. Just one inning later, Manny Machado broke the whole thing open with a fate-sealing three-run bomb to left field that put the score at 6-2 in the top of the 7th. The Braves drummed up momentum in the 8th, but reliever Kenta Maeda and the Dodgers eeked out of it to eventually seal the deal in Atlanta.
Every RBI on the Dodgers end in Game 4 came from a guy who they acquired at the midseason mark. Machado in that trade deadline blockbuster and Freese shortly after on August 31st. Machado was 1-12 heading into this game and put up an incredibly weak at-bat in the 9th inning to give the Braves a Game 3 victory. He clearly didn't have his mojo, so I was particularly concerned about him coming into this pivotal contest. He proved his doubters wrong in the biggest way with four authoritative RBI's in the clinching game. They have so many options on their team that you forget that young All-Star shortstop Cory Seager is still waiting in the wings for next year as he recovers from Tommy John surgery. They'll have to do some roster maneuvering if they decide to keep Machado after his contract expires this season.
Manny Machado wasn't hitting at the same efficient clip he was with the Orioles pre-trade (.315 with Baltimore compared to .273 with LA) but he created a definitive moment with his new franchise in this big win. Nevertheless, the battle is far from over. There are two more rounds until the team meets the only acceptable outcome. Clayton Kershaw, unlike Machado, has had many signature moments in his ten years with the Dodgers. He'll get his chance to continue the lore when he gets the ball for Game 1 of the NLCS off of seven days rest.
The Dodgers are now set to take on the Milwaukee Brewers in the National League Championship Series, who were actually the other series suitors for Manny Machado at the trade deadline. The Brewers did OK for themselves despite not nabbing Machado. Their key pickups of veterans Mike Moustakas, Joakim Soria, Jonathan Schoop, and Gio Gonzalez have contributed to making them the other premier team in the National League. Now the two hottest NL teams are on an October collision course. The Brewers will have home field advantage since they earned the best record in the NL, but I can totally see both teams nabbing victories on the road.
The Dodgers and Brewers don't have a lot of playoff beef in recent memory, but they had some regular season scuffles involving Prince Fielder (who is no longer a Brewer, nor in the league) several years ago. Milwaukee is coming in hot off this sweep of the Colorado Rockies, so it really feels like we have the best two NL teams facing off against each other. Both teams boast potent pitching rotations to go with some efficient and powerful hitting. Christian Yelich has had a career year for the Brewers with a .326 batting average to go with 36 Homers and 110 RBI's. He barely missed winning the triple crown! He's still the top candidate for NL MVP, but Friday will tell us how the young bull fares in the playoffs.
Check out highlights of the Dodgers NLDS Victory below and tune into the NLCS action on Friday
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