Dodgers: Insane double play keeps LAD in game in fourth

The Dodgers were on the verge of slipping WAY down to the Braves…before fate, and Austin Riley, intervened.

Oh, Braves. Oh, Atlanta Braves. What would the Dodgers do without you?

Every chance this team has to put away the NLCS, they figure out an intriguing way to muddy the waters.

Up 3-1 in the series and 2-0 in Game 5, on the verge of running away with things, Marcell Ozuna got caught off third at the wrong time on a Mookie Betts shoestring catch, and Will Smith made ’em pay with a clutch homer off his namesake a few innings later.

In Game 7, we saw much of the same. And this time? It was TOOTBLAN.

With runners on first and second and a run already in against Tony Gonsolin, the calls were loud for veteran Nick Markakis to lay down a bunt. Why not, right? He’s the king of bat control! Nobody was out! But when a wayward pitch bounced away from Travis d’Arnaud, the argument was rendered moot.

Unfortunately, on the grounder Markakis struck to third a few pitches later, the Braves’ baserunners acted like they were still kind of prepared for the bunt that would never come.

What. Was. This?!

Dansby Swanson getting caught in no man’s land? Sure, we can understand that. Sad and unfortunate baseball thing. It happens. Shoutout to Justin Turner with the cat-like reflexes.

But why on God’s Green Earth was Austin Riley sprinting for third? And why did he seemingly make the decision to sprint for third at the exact second that Swanson was tagged for the inning’s first out?

We’ve seen teams kill their own rallies before, but perhaps never this spectacularly.

We hope the Braves learned their lesson here … but we hope it doesn’t really sink in until next year.

For the duration of this game, by all means, keep messing around! Don’t listen to Ron Washington! Just do you!

Dodgers: Marcell Ozuna’s baserunning gaffe could be all LA needed to stage comeback

Los Angeles Dodgers star Mookie Betts made an incredible catch and ended up doubling up Braves slugger Marcell Ozuna, who tagged up too early.