Dodgers Gives Atlanta A ‘Brave’ Beatdown

Los Angeles—The Dodger’s dismantled the Atlanta Braves in a 13-6 win on Sunday night, taking a 2-1 lead in the series.

Dodgers starting pitcher Hyun-Jin Ryu couldn’t handle the pressure on the big stage, so he got excused from the mound in the third inning, but the offense stepped up to the challenge and did not dissatisfy.

The entire team went ballistic.

They performed in all aspects of the game last night; they singled, doubled, tripled, homered, stole bases and made    unbelievable catches, which led to a great team victory. In the midst of their epic performance, they managed to tie their franchise record for runs in a playoff game for 13.

This was by far, their most breathtaking game all year. Remember, no one remembers what you did during the season.

“The biggest thing was getting the win today,” Dodgers manager Don Mattingly said. “That has kind of been the plan the whole time, is kind of to win every day. I would like to be able to close us out tomorrow.

The rally started with a three-run homer by Carl Crawford in the second inning, led by a two-run explosion by Juan Uribe in the fourth. And then Hanley Ramirez added his two cents blasting a double and triple. Yasiel Puig and Adrian Gonzalez also joined in on the fun, running up the scoreboard.

It was a jovial night to be a Dodgers fan and a grievous night to be a Braves fan.

Ramirez has been the consistent playmaker for the team. He’s put the team and his back and allowed his teammates to ride his coattail in the postseason. In three playoff games with the braves, he’s already filling up the stat sheet. He’s batting .558 and has one homer, four doubles, one triple and six RBI’s, in 13 at-bats.

That’s spectacular for a postseason newcomer. Ramirez never had a chance to showcase his talent in the month of October.  The Miami Marlins never made the playoffs while he was on their roster. When he got traded to Los Angeles his life, mentality and job changed, dramatically.

“When I got here, they changed everything around me and in my mind,” Ramirez said. “From the first day, Donnie, I remember when I got to St. Louis and when I walked into his office, he just told me, ‘Just be you. We have 24 more guys out there that come here every day and play hard and have fun. I want you to be the same. Since day one, I think that is what I have been trying to do every day.”

Right now the Dodgers are playing like they want to win a World Series. If they can secure the win Monday, they will advance to the NL championship series.

Tamara Latta

Tamara is a graduate of Cal State Los Angeles where she received a Bachelor’s degree in Broadcast Journalism. Tamara is passionate about covering sports. She has covered the NBA and Major League Baseball routinely for the past several years. A Southern California native, Tamara developed her skills as a sports journalist while working for various Los Angeles-based news publications.