Braves to face Dodgers in National League Championship Series

Kyle Wright (Goggle Images)

The Atlanta Braves will play the Los Angeles Dodgers in the National League Championship Series. On Thursday, the Braves swept the Miami Marlins in Houston three games to none following a 7-0 win.  Then in Arlington, the Dodgers swept the San Diego Padres three games to none following a 12-3 win.

The Braves are in the NLCS due to their outstanding pitching. On Thursday, Kyle Wright of Huntsville, Alabama followed the exceptional performance of Ian Anderson of Clifton Park, New York with a sensational performance himself. Wright threw six innings and gave up only three hits and two walks to go along with seven strikeouts. Wright and Anderson are the first rookies in Major League Baseball playoff history to have back-to-back starts without giving up a run.

Just how strong has Atlanta’s pitching been? The Braves now have four shutouts in the playoffs over their first five games. They did not give up an earned run over 22 innings of work in the wildcard series against the Cincinnati Reds, and then blanked the Marlins 2-0 in game two of the NLDS on Wednesday. In five games, they have only given up five runs.

The last team to record four shutouts in their first five postseason games were the New York Giants back in 1905. That year the Giants defeated the Philadelphia Athletics 3-0, 9-0, 1-0, and 2-0 in their four World Series victories.

The Dodgers meanwhile had a record-setting performance offensively in their game three win over the Padres according to ESPN. Catcher Will Smith of Louisville, Kentucky set the Dodgers record for most hits in a playoff game with five. He had two doubles and three singles. Also, third baseman Justin Turner of Long Beach, California, set the Dodgers franchise record for most career postseason hits with 64. He set the record with a RBI single in the top of the third inning, which broke a 2-2 deadlock. The Dodgers and Braves will play Game 1 of the NLCS Monday in Texas.

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