Atlanta Moves Closer To World Series Return, Lead Dodgers 3-1

After besting the Dodgers 9-2 in Game 4 of the National League Championship Series, the Atlanta Braves find themselves one win away from returning to the World Series for the first time in more than two decades.

"I was very young when they went, the last time they went," said Braves lifer Freddie Freeman. "So we got a good team and we're playing really good baseball, and hopefully we can take this thing home and get to the World Series."

Rather than have a traditional starter take the mound, Atlanta relied on a stable of relievers, with Drew Smyly and A.J. Minter the only Atlanta hurlers to throw two or more innings. All told, six Braves pitchers combined to limit the Dodgers to just four hits and two runs.

“Bullpen games are extremely hard to navigate," added Freeman. "Especially when you have a wrinkle thrown at you before the game even started. It was just another obstacle for this team to overcome. What Drew and what A.J. Minter did was just absolutely huge.”

With one more win in the next three games, the Braves will find themselves playing host to the game's biggest spectacle, just months after MLB commissioner Rob Manfred opted to move the All-Star Game out of Atlanta.

As OutKick's Clay Travis noted, the prospect of a World Series in Atlanta would be "absolutely glorious karmic justice" after Manfred moved the All-Star Game away from that same city.

Justice can be served as soon as this evening, when LA hosts Atlanta for Game 5.

 

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