11 key moments from Friday's Dodgers-Braves NLDS Game 2
The Dodgers took Game 1 from the Braves at Turner Field by a comfortable 6-1 margin, but Game 2 ended up being the closest game of the postseason thus far. No shortage of dramatic moments in this one -- let's fire up the ol' GIF machine and run it down!
In the top of the second inning, the Braves showed off the leather with a double play -- and Freddie Freeman showed off his ability to gracefully dive while keeping in contact with first base:
In the bottom of the same inning, Zack Greinke tried to sneak a 69-mph breaking ball past Evan Gattis. El Oso Blanco wasn't having it:
The Dodgers had struck first on a Hanley Ramirez double, but the Braves pulled even on an opposite-field Andrelton Simmons double that scored Gattis:
In the bottom of the third, Zack Greinke showed he's not just a great pitcher -- he's got some impressive reflexes when fielding too:
Mike Minor put a charge into one in the fifth. But Yasiel Puig said, "wait a second -- pitchers aren't supposed to get hits." And tracked it down like a wide receiver running a slant route:
The Dodgers threatened in the sixth, putting two runners on via a Ramirez double and a Puig infield single, until Minor neutralized the threat by striking out Juan Uribe:
You don't hit .319 without being able to make contact. Freddie Freeman took some awkward hacks to stay alive on a few consecutive pitches in the sixth, and laughed about it with Dodgers catcher A.J. Ellis:
In the top of the seventh, Michael Young hit what looked like a groundout ... but Luis Ayala had some trouble finding first base:
With two outs in the bottom of the seventh and runners on second and third, Don Mattingly chose to walk Reed Johnson intentionally to get to Jason Heyward. That didn't work out well, as Heyward was able to single to center off Paco Rodriguez. B.J. Upton and Chris Johnson scored, and Johnson was pumped about it:
But down 4-1, Los Angeles wasn't about to give up just yet. Hanley Ramirez snuck a two-run homer just over the wall and just right of the left-field foul pole in the top of the eighth:
Craig Kimbrel came in to try to save it for Atlanta. After making quick work of Skip Schumaker, the All-Star closer let one get away from him and walked A.J. Ellis on a 3-2 pitch. Pinch runner Dee Gordon tried to steal -- and didn't succeed. Braves catcher Gerald Laird was psyched, while Gordon was utterly flabbergasted:
Kimbrel then walked Andre Ethier, but struck out Carl Crawford to seal the victory. The teams will match up again on Sunday for Game 3 in L.A.