Braves follow manager's pitch-perfect plan to even series with Dodgers

LOS ANGELES -- While explaining why he opted to give a fatigued Chris Sale a couple extra days of rest, Braves manager Walt Weiss said, “We know our club very well.”

When the Braves silenced their doubters a few hours later with a 3-2 win over the Dodgers on Sunday night in Game 2 of the NL Division Series, there was no reason to question the Sale decision or any of the many pitching decisions Weiss had to make to gain this tide-turning victory that evened the best-of-five series.

Ray Kerr proved masterful as an opener yet again and Didier Fuentes further highlighted a pitching performance that included the use of six different pitchers. As for Michael Harris II, he made sure their efforts didn’t go to waste. Harris tripled and scored on a wild pitch in the fifth and he plated Matt Olson with a double in the seventh.

Harris’ key two-out hits helped the Braves claim a victory that many thought was unlikely when they pushed Sale’s start to Game 3 and instead went with an opener for a third straight game.

The series now shifts to Atlanta for Games 3 and 4 on Tuesday and Wednesday.

Weiss’ stress level elevated as he had to lean heavily on his relievers. But his successful navigation toward 27 outs should have created incredible satisfaction.

Some might have counted the Braves out after their Game 1 loss. But now they are tied and heading home knowing Sale and Tyler Mahle are starting the next two games.

“I know that crowd is going to be awesome," said catcher Drake Baldwin on the field postgame. "It was incredible in the Wild Card Series. We’re fired up to be back in Atlanta. Whenever Sale is on the mound, we’re feeling good.”

Fuentes certainly didn’t look like a 21-year-old rookie as he worked 3 2/3 innings and wasn't scored upon until Max Muncy's solo homer with two outs in the ninth. That's when Weiss signaled for Raisel Iglesias to get the final out. But the tone was set once again by Kerr, who may now stand as the most beloved opener in Braves history.

Kerr recorded four strikeouts and allowed just two hits over 2 2/3 scoreless innings. This 42-pitch effort against the Dodgers lineup alone would be impressive. But making this effort more epic was the fact it came just three days after he threw 47 pitches while throwing 3 1/3 scoreless innings against the Phillies in the deciding Game 3 of the NL Wild Card Series.

Weiss entered this game not knowing exactly how long Kerr might last. But the 32-year-old lefty showed no signs of fatigue. He surrendered a leadoff double to Miguel Rojas in the third and then intentionally pitched around Mookie Betts to set up a lefty-versus-lefty matchup against Shohei Ohtani.

Ohtani hit a harmless pop fly to end Kerr’s evening. The southpaw’s ability to get into the third inning was pivotal, especially with Grant Holmes’ outing lasting just five batters. Holmes surrendered Freddie Freeman’s leadoff homer in the fourth and exited with one out and two on later in the inning.

Dylan Lee stranded the two runners in the fourth, but exited after putting two on with none out in the fifth. Robert Suarez stranded those two runners while making just his fourth appearance since his right elbow began bothering him in late June.

Knowing Suarez wouldn’t return for a second inning, there was reason to debate how the Braves could get the final 12 outs. Fuentes accounted for 11 of them.

By the time Iglesias recorded the final out, the Braves had reason to celebrate the fact that Weiss and the club’s other decision makers do seem to know what’s best for the team.

“I think we have a lot of confidence in our bullpen,” Baldwin said. “They’ve been really good for us all year, a lot of leverage guys all throughout it. I think our team had nothing but confidence. They went out there and pitched so well. Says a lot about our bullpen.”