For the third consecutive autumn, the Los Angeles Dodgers have found their way to the National League Championship Series, this time dispatching the Atlanta Braves in four games defined not by offensive brilliance but by the quiet dominance of pitching on both sides. In a series where runs were scarce and hits rarer still, it was a rookie's single on a full count in the seventh inning that finally broke the deadlock and sent Los Angeles forward. The Dodgers, back-to-back World Series champions, now await their next opponent — a reminder that sustained excellence in October is as much about wha
Dodgers Advance to Third Straight NLCS, Outlast Braves in Low-Scoring Series
Seventeen combined runs across four games—pitching won, as it always does.
Mark
So the Dodgers won 4-1 in Game 4, but the story here isn't really about the score—it's about how little offense either team could generate, right?
Mimi
Exactly. Seventeen combined runs across four games. That's not normal baseball. Both teams had elite pitching, and it showed. The Braves scored eight runs total. Eight.
Luke
But let's be precise about what we know. The Braves went .145 as a team—18 hits in 124 at-bats. That's a real number. But was that because the Dodgers' pitching was that good, or because Atlanta's hitters just couldn't time anything? The source doesn't really separate those things.
Mimi
Fair point. But Glasnow walked five hitters in 4⅔ innings and still didn't give up a big hit. That suggests the Braves weren't just cold—they weren't executing when they had chances.
Mark
The winning play was Pages' single in the seventh. Two outs, two walks, 3-2 count. That's a moment where the Dodgers finally broke through.
Luke
Yes, but here's what we don't know: How many times did the Braves have a similar opportunity and fail? The narrative says they had one hit with runners in scoring position all series. One. That's the real story—not that the Dodgers won, but that Atlanta couldn't capitalize when it mattered.
Mimi
And the Dodgers' stars—Ohtani, Betts, Freeman, Tucker—they didn't carry the load. It was Hernandez, Pages, and Muncy. That's unusual for a team with that much talent.
Mark
So what's next? The Brewers are up 2-1 on the Padres.
Luke
If Milwaukee wins, you get the two 100-win teams facing off. But we don't know if that happens yet. The source mentions it as a possibility, not a certainty.
Mimi
Right. And the Braves go home again without a championship since 2021, despite having a really talented roster.
Mark
That's the sting of it, isn't it? You have the talent, but you can't score runs when it counts.
Der Puls
- A pitching duel so suffocating that both teams combined for just 17 runs across four games, turning a star-studded playoff series into a war of attrition between bullpens.
- Atlanta's powerful lineup — featuring Acuña, Olson, Albies, and Riley — was held to a .145 batting average across the series, unable to string together the big inning that might have changed the outcome.
- The Dodgers themselves were hardly dominant at the plate, recording just one hit with runners in scoring position for the entire series, surviving on the strength of their arms rather than their bats.
- The decisive moment arrived in the seventh inning of Game 4 when rookie Andy Pages lined a 3-2 pitch up the middle, scoring two runs and giving Los Angeles a lead they would never surrender.
- With Milwaukee holding a 2-1 series lead over San Diego, the Dodgers may soon face the only other team to win 100 games this season — a potential NLCS that would match the two most dominant regular-season clubs.
For the third consecutive autumn, the Los Angeles Dodgers have found their way to the National League Championship Series, this time dispatching the Atlanta Braves in four games defined not by offensive brilliance but by the quiet dominance of pitching on both sides. In a series where runs were scarce and hits rarer still, it was a rookie's single on a full count in the seventh inning that finally broke the deadlock and sent Los Angeles forward. The Dodgers, back-to-back World Series champions, now await their next opponent — a reminder that sustained excellence in October is as much about what you prevent as what you produce.
The Los Angeles Dodgers punched their ticket to a third straight National League Championship Series on Wednesday night, defeating the Atlanta Braves 4-1 in Game 4 of the division series. The clinching moment came in the seventh inning, when rookie Andy Pages lined a single up the middle on a full count, scoring two runs after consecutive walks loaded the bases. Max Muncy added a solo home run in the ninth, and Edwin Diaz closed things out without incident.
The series was defined from the start by dominant pitching on both sides. The two teams combined for just 17 runs across four games, with Atlanta's lineup — despite featuring some of the game's most recognizable names — managing only 18 hits in 124 at-bats, a .145 average. The Braves could not manufacture a big inning against Yamamoto, Glasnow, or the Dodgers' deep bullpen, and that inability proved fatal to their postseason.
Game 4 itself was a tense, low-scoring affair. Atlanta scored first on an unearned run in the opening inning, while Los Angeles tied it in the second on a sequence of stolen bases, a wild throw, and a dropped pop-up by Mauricio Dubon. Tyler Glasnow was erratic — issuing five walks in fewer than five innings — yet Atlanta could not convert the opportunities he offered. When Glasnow departed, the Dodgers' relievers shut the door entirely.
The Braves' offensive drought was the defining story of the series. Even with Acuña, Olson, Albies, and Riley in the lineup, they could not sustain pressure against Los Angeles's pitching. For the Dodgers, it was a familiar October posture — imperfect at the plate, but sufficiently dominant on the mound to advance. As back-to-back World Series champions, they now await the winner of the Milwaukee-San Diego series, with the Brewers holding a 2-1 lead and a potential 100-win showdown on the horizon.
The Los Angeles Dodgers advanced to their third consecutive National League Championship Series on Wednesday night, defeating the Atlanta Braves 4-1 in Game 4 of the division series. The breakthrough came in the seventh inning when Andy Pages lined a single up the middle on a 3-2 count, scoring two runs after Josue De Paula and Kyle Tucker had drawn consecutive walks off Braves reliever Didier Fuentes. Max Muncy added insurance with a solo home run in the ninth, and closer Edwin Diaz retired the side without drama to seal the series.
The entire four-game matchup was defined by suffocating pitching from both sides. Across the series, the two teams combined for just 17 runs—a showcase of dominant arms that overshadowed even the star power in both lineups. The Dodgers' rotation, anchored by Tarik Skubal and Tyler Glasnow, kept Atlanta's hitters off balance throughout. In Game 1, Skubal was particularly sharp, though the Dodgers managed only a 5-3 victory despite going hitless with runners in scoring position. Game 2 belonged entirely to Atlanta's pitchers: Ray Kerr and Didier Fuentes held the powerful Los Angeles lineup to two runs while the Braves scratched across three against Blake Snell and a succession of Dodgers relievers.
Game 3 at home seemed to shift momentum toward Atlanta. Kike Hernandez and Freddie Freeman each homered off Chris Sale in the fourth inning, but again the Dodgers' relief corps shut down the Braves' bats. The 3-1 result left the series tied at one game apiece, with Game 4 looming as a decisive matchup. Tyler Mahle took the mound for Atlanta, coming off a deadline acquisition that gave him the lowest ERA of any starter traded this summer—even better than Skubal's numbers. Glasnow countered for Los Angeles, returning from an injury-plagued regular season.
For five innings, neither team could break through. Atlanta struck first in the opening inning through a sequence of small plays: Michael Harris II singled, stole second with aggressive baserunning, advanced to third on a grounder, and scored when Glasnow's breaking ball bounced away from catcher Will Smith. The Dodgers tied it in the second when Shohei Ohtani walked, stole second as Teoscar Hernandez struck out, and advanced to third on a wild throw from Sean Murphy. Mauricio Dubon, who had robbed Freeman of a home run the night before, inexplicably dropped a Max Muncy pop-up in short left, allowing Ohtani to score.
Glasnow was effectively wild through his time on the mound, issuing five walks in 4⅔ innings, but Atlanta never capitalized on the baserunners. When Ozzie Albies doubled to lead off the sixth, Alex Vesia and Edgardo Henriquez combined to strand him. The breakthrough finally came in the seventh. After Teoscar Hernandez singled to chase Mahle, Fuentes couldn't find the strike zone. De Paula, a rookie pinch hitter, worked a walk with two outs. Kyle Tucker followed with another walk, loading the bases for Pages. On a 3-2 count, Pages delivered the line drive that broke the game open, scoring two runs and giving Los Angeles a 3-1 lead they would not relinquish.
Atlanta's offensive struggles were stark and unrelenting. The Braves managed just 18 hits in 124 at-bats across the series—a .145 batting average—and scored only eight runs in four games. Even with a lineup featuring Harris, Ronald Acuña Jr., Matt Olson, Ozzie Albies, and Austin Riley, they could not manufacture the big inning needed against Yamamoto or Glasnow. The Dodgers, for their part, had just one hit with runners in scoring position across the entire series, yet their pitching was sufficient to advance. Muncy's ninth-inning homer provided the final punctuation.
The Dodgers' path to October has been consistent. They won the World Series in both 2024 and 2025, and now they await the winner of the Milwaukee Brewers-San Diego Padres series, with Milwaukee holding a 2-1 advantage. If the Brewers advance, the matchup would pit the only two teams to win 100 games in the regular season against each other. For Atlanta, it marks another postseason disappointment following their 2021 championship, a reminder that even talented rosters cannot overcome the kind of offensive drought the Braves endured this week.
Bemerkenswerte Zitate
Sometimes those clichés about pitching turn out to be true— Reporting summary
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