Dodgers avoid 0-3 hole with eighth-inning rally against Braves

LOS ANGELES — Just when this NLCS was on the verge of becoming a foregone conclusion, the Dodgers awoke Tuesday and forced the Braves to pay for missed opportunities.

A majestic Cody Bellinger clout and Mookie Betts go-ahead double later, this series was alive and well — and still very much up for grabs. With their eighth-inning thunder, the Dodgers won 6-5 in Game 3 of the NLCS at Chavez Ravine, stealing one after they were walked-off in successive losses in Atlanta.

The defending World Series champions were down to their final five outs, about to fall into the abyss known as a 3-0 series deficit when Bellinger breathed new life into the Dodgers’ season with a three-run homer against Luke Jackson that tied it 5-5, awakening a sellout crowd that had been dormant for several innings.

“In the moment it’s loud and you don’t really hear anything and you don’t really see anything,” Bellinger said. “Rounding second, I saw the boys in the dugout giving me the celebration so I had to do it back. Just pure joy and just glad I could tie up the game right there to give us a chance.”

Dodgers manager Dave Roberts played for the only team to overcome a 3-0 series deficit in the postseason (the 2004 Red Sox), but didn’t want to find out if that feat could be duplicated. He realized what was at stake as the Dodgers came to bat in the eighth.

“We were dead in the water,” Roberts said.

Behind 1-2 in the count, Bellinger crushed a high fastball into the seats in right-center for his first homer this postseason. Then, after Chris Taylor singled and stole second against Jesse Chavez, Betts delivered the knockout punch with a shot into the right-center gap. Taylor’s stolen base loomed larger given that the ensuing batter, Matt Beaty, hit a grounder that could have otherwise been an inning-ending double play.

“That stolen base right there is huge,” Betts said. “It got other guys up to the plate and gave us two more chances instead of one.”

The Braves left 10 runners on base in failing to capitalize on opportunities after building a 5-2 lead in the fifth. That as much as anything was a testament to the Dodgers’ bullpen — eight relievers were used behind starter Walker Buehler — which surrendered only one run over 5 ¹/₃ innings. Kenley Jansen, who allowed walk-off hits in Games 1 and 2, worked a perfect ninth for the save.

“We will be fine,” Braves manager Brian Snitker said. “We have lost tough games, bounced back and it didn’t mean a thing.”

The Dodgers betrayed Buehler defensively during a fourth inning in which the Braves sent 10 batters to the plate and scored four times to take a 4-2 lead. Austin Riley hit a shot to deep center that Gavin Lux should have caught, but the ball hit off his glove for a double, giving the Braves runners on second and third.

Joc Pederson and Adam Duvall followed with an RBI single apiece before Travis d’Arnaud walked to extend the rally. Dansby Swanson followed with a grounder off Seager’s glove for an RBI single. Buehler’s horror show concluded with a four-pitch walk of Eddie Rosario that forced in the fourth run. Lefty reliever Alex Vesia needed only one pitch to escape the inning, retiring Freddie Freeman.

Charlie Morton recovered from an ugly first inning in which he walked four batters and allowed a two-run homer to Seager. The veteran right-hander lasted five innings and surrendered only those two runs, with three hits allowed and six walks.

Duvall’s RBI single in the fifth extended the Braves’ lead to 5-2. Ozzie Albies singled and stole second to begin the rally against Corey Knebel, who recorded only one out in the inning before Phil Bickford was summoned.

Seager’s two-run homer in the first inning gave the Dodgers an early lead, but a huge missed opportunity followed. After Trea Turner and Will Smith were retired, Morton loaded the bases with three straight walks. But Morton retired the eighth batter he faced, Taylor, to complete the 34-pitch inning.

Betts walked leading off the game for the Dodgers and Seager’s homered on a hanging curve. The blast was Seager’s 13th all-time in the postseason, tying him with Justin Turner for the franchise record.