Dodgers explode for 7 runs in 9th inning to beat Braves

ATLANTA – Picking your poison still means you’re stuck with poison.

For the second time in two weeks, an opponent opted to intentionally walk Shohei Ohtani in a close game, preferring to face Mookie Betts. Betts made the Angels pay the first time with a three-run home run in the 10th inning of a Dodgers victory.

Betts came through again Sunday night, lining a go-ahead RBI single through the middle to give the Dodgers their first lead of this series. They uncorked the whole bottle after that, scoring seven times in the ninth inning to beat the Atlanta Braves 9-2.

“It was a big win,” Dodgers manager Dave Roberts said. “We’ve had a lot of big wins this year. I don’t want to say it was the biggest win of the year but it felt big just considering what we’ve been going through.”

Before the game, Roberts took the opportunity of a team meeting regarding baseball observing Roberto Clemente Day Sunday to address the team as a whole. It was not a tongue-lashing over the poor play while losing four of the previous five games. Instead, he reminded them that were still a pretty good team even with the injuries that have depleted their pitching staff.

“Just putting confidence in us, that’s all. Telling us we’re still good,” Betts said of Roberts’ talk. “Just instilling to keep fighting. Keep fighting and things will turn eventually.”

To finally come through with a big inning and win Sunday provided proof of that and a chance to take a deep breath in the midst of a playoff race.

“Yeah, absolutely,” Betts said. “I mean, we haven’t been playing well for a week or so, a little bit longer. So any time you break through, it’s a sigh of relief. It’s hard to keep confidence. But I think we’ve done a really good job in really staying confident and knowing that we can do it, keeping the pressure on until we do break through.”

The breakthrough was awhile in coming Sunday.

The Braves had reason to fear Ohtani. He drove in the Dodgers’ first two runs of the game with doubles in the fifth and seventh innings, ending a stretch of 11 hitless at-bats.

But those runs left the Dodgers in a 2-2 tie in the ninth inning, facing Braves closer Raisel Iglesias who hadn’t given up a run since June 18.

Will Smith nearly gave the Dodgers the lead with a drive that bounced off the top of the brick wall in right-center field. He wound up with a triple.

After Andy Pages grounded out, Smith holding at third base, the Braves quickly waved Ohtani to first base, bringing up Betts.

“I mean, I don’t blame them,” Betts said. “I wouldn’t pitch to him either.”

Betts lashed a 1-and-1 fastball through the middle to drive in the go-ahead run. Just four times in his career has the batter ahead of Betts been intentionally walked — David Ortiz twice during the 2016 season and Ohtani twice this season. Betts is 3 for 4 in those at-bats with six RBIs.

“There might be one guy or two guys on the planet and one guy is in New York (Aaron Judge) and one guy is in our clubhouse,” Roberts said when asked if there were any hitters he would intentionally walk in front of Betts. “That’s a tough decision for any manager.”

The wheels came off for the Braves after that. Freddie Freeman singled to left field where Jarred Kelenic misplayed the ball, allowing two runs to score. The next three hitters — Teoscar Hernandez, Tommy Edman and Max Muncy — hit home runs.

“We haven’t played good the past two days,” Dodgers starter Walker Buehler said. “I think it says a lot about our team, the end of that game and kind of not settling for a two-run lead or whatever and kind of pouring it on. I think it’s a really big win for us.”

It was a really big no-decision for Buehler.

He walked five in the first three innings and wobbled through a two-run third inning when his defense let him down. But he got through six innings, didn’t allow any more runs and made a significant step forward in his September audition for October starts.

“It was huge,” Roberts said of Buehler’s outing. “Like I’ve said, I believe in who he is. But you do have to get results as a player to build that confidence, that momentum. This was a big step. It really was. I talk about performing and results at this time of the season and the results were very good.

“That’s his pedigree. That’s who he is and that’s who we need him to be.”

Buehler’s first three innings against the Braves, though, were very much on brand for the difficult season he has had.

He walked five of the first 13 batters he faced. The Braves stranded two in the second inning. But a catcher’s interference by Austin Barnes helped load the bases with one out in the third.

Buehler got ahead of Matt Olson 0-and-2 but wound up walking him – a familiar inability to finish off hitters that has plagued him in his comeback season.

That forced in a run. Another scored when Gavin Lux fielded Travis d’Arnaud’s ground ball behind second base but couldn’t flip it to shortstop Tommy Edman in time to get the force out at second base.

“At some point, every guy on the field and on our team has been frustrated with the way I’ve thrown the ball. So that stuff happens,” Buehler said of not getting frustrated with the misplays that put him in a jam. “That’s baseball. Nobody on our team right now is playing to lose. We want to win and we want to stay sharp. Baseball happens, and it’s a weird environment.”

Buehler was a different pitcher after that. He retired 10 of the final 11 batters he faced. After throwing 31 pitches in the extended third inning and 70 in the first three, he needed just 27 to hold the Braves scoreless over the next three.

“I thought I made some pitches just like barely off, barely off, barely off,” Buehler said. “I’ve kind of talked about it in the past before, this not being the playoffs but for me it kind of feels like that at this point. To me, the walk is way less of a negative in playoff or big-game scenarios because I just think it doesn’t create as much momentum. Just trying not to give in and make the pitches that I wanted to make.

“Then third time through, last three innings, couple first-pitch outs and early outs and three-pitch punchouts. You kind of get rolling and feel good about it.”

Michael Kopech had to work to keep the score tied in the eighth inning, setting the stage for the Dodgers’ explosive finish.

He walked the first batter in the eighth then gave up a double to Matt Olson, putting the go-ahead runs in scoring position. The runners held when Travis d’Arnaud flew out to shallow left field then Kopech struck out Orlando Arcia and Kelenic.

Kopech’s final seven pitches in the inning registered either 100 or 101 mph.