Dodgers: 4 NLCS blunders that led to Braves winning the World Series

3. Walker Buehler’s Meltdown in Game 6

Again, we’re not blaming Walker Buehler here. The man was a trooper. A Cy Young candidate who blew by his career high in innings pitched by over 30 frames. He was exhausted when the playoffs rolled around and pitched on short rest twice.

In fact, he had to pitch in this game because Max Scherzer’s arm was dead. The odds were stacked against Buehler, but he managed to somewhat cruise through 3.2 innings. Then he got ahead 1-2 in the count to Travis d’Arnaud. Three straight balls put a runner on first. He was one strike away from getting out of the inning.

Then came pinch-hitter Ehire Adrianza in the nine-hole. Another ball. That’s now four straight. Adrianza doubled on the next pitch he saw, which was a poorly located fastball up and in. That’s a walk to the eight hitter and a double to the nine hitter, who was batting .247 on the year.

Who did that bring up? Oh, only the hottest hitter in the entire MLB postseason — Eddie Rosario. Buehler got ahead in the count 1-2. Great. OK, probably threw 12 more pitches than he needed to, but one more strike gets us into the fifth. Well, he sure did throw a strike.

Another poorly located cutter, right over the middle of the plate. Couldn’t be more in Rosario’s wheelhouse. The pitch was creamed into the right field seats. Three-run homer. 4-1. With the way the Dodgers offense was performing, that meant Game Over.

And it was.

2. Dave Roberts’ Game 2 Pitching Decisions

Come on guys, we wouldn’t be writing a long article like this and let manager Dave Roberts off scot-free. Admittedly, we still do not think he deserves the shoulder most of the blame for this series, but looking back on how things transpired in Game 2, it’s hard not to at least question what he was doing.

There is now some defense for Roberts, who initially was believed to have prematurely removed Max Scherzer from his start. It was later discovered Scherzer had to be taken out because his arm was dead.

Anyway, Scherzer’s exit forced the Dodgers to go deep into the bullpen. LA held a 4-2 lead and needed just six outs, though. They were so close.

Then Roberts went to lefty Julio Urías. OK, this strategy has historically worked … when Urías wasn’t a full-time starter, though. He was also more than 100 innings over his career-high mark. Is this really the guy that was needed for this spot? Not only was he exhausted, but he was no longer a mystery to opposing lineups in these sorts of situations. In fact, the Braves saw him twice in 2021 and plenty in last year’s postseason. This was nothing new for them.

They tattooed Urías for two runs on three hits in an inning pitched. The game was now tied, 4-4. Brusdar Graterol would put the game-winning run on base and Kenley Jansen allowed the hit to get it across.

Blake Treinen got out of the seventh inning on just nine pitches. He couldn’t start off the eighth before a polarizing decision on Urías was made? We’re just asking …

Then again, the Dodgers went 1-for-10 with runners in scoring position in this one, which is the only reason this is even a discussion.

1. Chris Taylor’s Game 1 Baserunning Gaffe

Man, it’s really hard for us to be putting ANY blame on Chris Taylor after the epic postseason he just had. If his bat wasn’t as good as it was, the Dodgers might not even have made the NLDS.

However, we have to look back at a number of situations that put the Dodgers in a hole. The offensive performance and pitching decisions in Game 2 that we just discussed play a significant role.

And so did Taylor’s baserunning gaffe in Game 1. Every MLB player will tell you mistakes in the postseason come back to haunt you. The margin for error is razor thin. Open the door for the opponent and you’ll regret it seconds later.

In Game 1 of the NLCS, it was tied 2-2 heading into the top of the ninth. No runs were scored in the previous four innings. Something had to give.

Taylor stepped into the batter’s box with two outs after both Albert Pujols and Will Smith popped out. He worked a walk against shaky closer Will Smith. That brought up Cody Bellinger, who was the team’s hottest hitter to date. On a 1-1 count, he ripped a single into right-center field.

But Taylor, for some reason, couldn’t make a decision on whether he was going to third base. He rounded second and started to make his way to third, then he stopped dead in his tracks. Joc Pederson’s throw came into second base, and as Taylor turned around, he knew he was dead. A quick rundown saw him tagged out. Inning over. Next batter would’ve been Mookie Betts with either runners at first and second or at the corners.

Next inning? The Braves walked it off. Taylor’s heroics ended up keeping the Dodgers alive later in the series, but the damage was already done. The Game 1 domino gave the Braves momentum in Game 2. The Dodgers not stealing either of those on the road put the nail in their coffin for 2021.

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