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

Former Los Angeles Dodger Joc Pederson and the Atlanta Braves are World Series champions. They made it to the Fall Classic by steamrolling the Dodgers in the NLCS. Yes, to put it nicely, that’s what happened.

Were the Braves the better team? Absolutely. No question about it.

But did the Dodgers shoot themselves in the foot? Over and over? Yes … yes, they did. We’re not saying if they don’t do that then they’re automatically facing the Houston Astros, but you just never know what might happen when momentum is flowing in the other direction.

At every stop, the Dodgers managed to fumble the bag. Nonexistent offense? Check. Questionable pitching decisions? Check. Defensive lapses? Check. Baserunning issues? You bet! Injuries also played a role in ousting the Dodgers … but what if they didn’t completely blow two very winnable games in Atlanta? Remember, they were walked off twice in Games 1 and 2.

LA had ATL right where they wanted them…and swiftly let it all slip away. Let’s take a look at how it all fell apart for the Dodgers and all came together for the Braves.

These 4 Dodgers playoff blunders in the NLCS helped the Braves win the World Series.

4. Mookie Betts’ Awful At-Bat in Game 6

This isn’t atop the list because of the various circumstances that ultimately led to Mookie Betts striking out to end the seventh inning of Game 6. The Dodgers had runners on second and third with nobody out. The Braves brought in reliever Tyler Matzek, who became a god this postseason.

The lefty struck out Albert Pujols and Steven Souza Jr. before Betts came to the plate. Everyone screaming about how Betts should’ve gotten a hit because he makes a lot of money is a bit wrong here. At the very least, he should have put forth a real at-bat. Instead, he struck out on three fastballs. He looked at two down the middle. That was the problem.

Hitting is incredibly difficult, especially in a nerve-wracking situation … one where you’re tasked with saving your team’s entire season. And don’t forget, Betts dominated last year’s playoff run AND came through in the NLWC Game and NLDS.

That doesn’t absolve him from blame, but it should provide some perspective here. Nonetheless, the Dodgers lost this game 4-2 and were eliminated from the playoffs.

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.

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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