Dodgers beat Braves 4-1 and reach a third straight NLCS

With the bases loaded in the seventh inning, Andy Pages singled home two runs and the Los Angeles Dodgers took their first lead of Game 4. They beat the Braves 4-1 at Truist Park in Atlanta on Wednesday, Oct. 7, according to ESPN, closed out the National League Division Series 3-1 and advance to a third straight Championship Series.

Atlanta scored first. In the first inning, Michael Harris II led off with a single, stole second and moved to third on a groundout; a wild pitch brought him home. The Dodgers tied it in the second: Shohei Ohtani drew a walk, stole second, reached third on a wild throw by catcher Sean Murphy and scored when Mauricio Dubón dropped a fly ball from Max Muncy.

Then the game stalled. Dodgers starter Tyler Glasnow went 4⅔ innings with one hit and five walks, and Atlanta's Tyler Mahle worked 6⅓ with two runs, one of them earned, according to AP.

In the seventh, with two outs and reliever Robert Suárez on the mound, Pages delivered the single that made it 3-1. He had gone 0 for 7 in the first two games of the series, according to MLB.com. After the game, Pages explained it this way, according to AP:

"I had been preparing myself all series for a moment like that, to give myself an opportunity and get a good pitch to hit."

Manager Dave Roberts spoke about closer Edwin Díaz in a short line: "That's the reason why we got him."

Muncy provided the final run in the ninth with a solo home run on a full count against Raisel Iglesias, his 19th postseason homer with the Dodgers, a franchise record. Edgardo Henríquez got the win after 1⅔ scoreless innings and Tanner Scott threw a perfect eighth. Díaz earned the save, his second of the series.

With the win, the Dodgers have five straight road victories in the playoffs, tying the best streak in team history. Atlanta, which won 94 games in the regular season, goes home after a series in which, according to AP, none of the 18 runners who reached on walks scored. Manager Walt Weiss said the Dodgers are going for a third straight world title "for a reason."

The Championship Series opens Sunday, Oct. 11. The Dodgers await the winner of Brewers-Padres, a series that was still open when this story was written. If Milwaukee advances, Game 1 is in Milwaukee; if San Diego does, it is in Los Angeles. Game 3 of this series is covered in our Tuesday recap.