Cease deals with diminished velocity versus A’s

After having a potential go-ahead homer robbed by Braves left fielder Mauricio Dubón earlier in the contest, Freeman ensured that his next fly ball wouldn’t be caught, tattooing a 399-foot moonshot to right-center field off Atlanta ace Chris Sale to give Los Angeles a three-run advantage in the fourth inning. It was his second round-tripper of the playoffs and 18th career postseason big fly since 2012. The 37-year-old ageless wonder recorded three batted balls with exit velocities over 101 mph against his former team in this one, but only came away with one hit to show for it. The Dodgers have an opportunity to punch their ticket back to the NLCS with a win in Game 4 of the best-of-five series at Truist Park on Wednesday evening.

Baldwin supplied Atlanta’s lone run against Dodgers ace Yoshinobu Yamamoto when he delivered a bases-loaded ground out in the fifth inning. He struck out twice and finished hitless in four at-bats. The Braves will attempt to even the best-of-five series when they host Game 4 on Wednesday night.

Apparently, Hernández isn’t finished etching his name into Dodgers postseason lore. The 35-year-old veteran took Atlanta ace Chris Sale deep in the fourth inning to break up a scoreless stalemate. It was his first round-tripper of the playoffs and 17th career home run across 105 career postseason contests.

It was encouraging to see Scott rebound with a pair of strikeouts in a shutout frame after a tough outing in the series opener over the weekend where he served up a two-run homer to Ozzie Albies. It didn’t end up costing Los Angeles, but it was an auspicious start to the postseason for one of the club’s key high-leverage arms. He recorded two quick outs before working out a two-out walk to Ronald Acuña Jr. by striking out slugger Matt Olson to escape with the lead intact.

It was fairly stunning to see Dodgers manager Dave Roberts turn to Díaz in a massive spot, asking him to preserve a two-run lead on the road at Trust Park, following an injury-plagued and ineffective regular season. He immediately served up a leadoff double to Ozzie Albies, which brought the potential game-tying run to the plate. He managed to settle down and retire both Michael Harris II and Mauricio Dubón before getting pinch-hitter Mike Yastrzemski to ground out, thanks to a brilliant defensive play by shortstop Mookie Betts. It’s fair to assume that Díaz will continue to receive opportunities to close as the Dodgers continue their postseason run. This was his first save since August 14.

Yamamoto has repeatedly found another gear when the postseason demands it, and he authored another masterpiece at Truist Park to put Los Angeles back in the metaphorical driver’s seat in the best-of-five series as they pursue their third consecutive World Series title. It was the first double-digit strikeout performance of his playoff career, and he allowed just five baserunners while needing an economical 98 pitches (62 strikes) to navigate seven impressive frames. The Dodgers grabbed an early lead on homers by Enrique Hernández and Freddie Freeman, while Yamamoto carried a shutout into the fifth inning before Atlanta finally broke through on a bases-loaded groundout by Drake Baldwin. He escaped the jam without further damage by coaxing a harmless ground ball from Ronald Acuña Jr. to extinguish the threat. He’ll presumably be available out of the bullpen for the final two games, should the Dodgers require his heroics.

Sale wriggled out of a first-inning jam by punching out Shohei Ohtani on a nasty slider and piled up six punchouts over three shutout frames to open the contest. He ran into trouble in the fourth when postseason hero Enrique Hernández slugged a two-run shot to left field before former Braves icon Freddie Freeman took him deep to right-center field, an absolutely stunning turn of events for the veteran ace after allowing just 10 homers across 162 2/3 regular-season innings. It was the first time he served up multiple home runs in a postseason outing since his playoff debut back in 2017. He returned to toss a perfect fifth inning before departing after 95 pitches (62 strikes), with Atlanta manager Walt Weiss turning to his bullpen to open the sixth. It’s a virtual lock that Sale will get the ball again at some point, most likely in relief, as the best-of-five series continues.

It doesn’t sound like a massive concern, but back issues can be a complicated matter, especially without additional downtime and significant travel during the postseason. Rojas was lifted during the eighth inning of Game 3 in Atlanta after going 0-for-3 at the dish. He’s presumably day-to-day for the remainder of the series.

Peralta takes over Mason Miller’s vacated roster spot while the elite closer is away from the club on paternity leave. The 35-year-old lefty compiled a respectable 3.61 ERA across 77 1/3 innings of work during the regular season.

It’s a seismic development shortly before San Diego’s must-win Game 3 matchup against the Brewers at Petco Park. Miller will be unavailable for at least Game 3 of the best-of-five series, but could potentially make it back for Game 4 on Wednesday night. The 28-year-old elite closer served up a walk-off hit to Jackson Chourio while attempting to complete a six-out save and was saddled with the loss in Game 2 over the weekend. Miller was unlikely to be available for more than one inning during Game 3 regardless, but his absence puts even more pressure on starter Nick Pivetta and the rest of the Padres bullpen.