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Los Angeles Times

Sport

Jorge Castillo

Dodgers have tables turned in stunning NLCS Game 4 blowout loss to the Braves

The Atlanta Braves' Ronald Acuna reacts after scoring a run on a double by Freddie Freeman against the Los Angeles Dodgers during the sixth inning in Game 4 of the National League Championship Series at Globe Life Field in Arlington, Texas, on Thursday, Oct. 15, 2020. The Braves won, 10-2, for a 3-1 series lead. (Curtis Compton/Atlanta Journal-Constitution/TNS)

ARLINGTON, Texas _ The pitching matchup, all the eyes and computers agreed, was one of the biggest mismatches possible this deep into October.

On one side, the Los Angeles Dodgers had Clayton Kershaw, a three-time Cy Young Award winner and future Hall of Famer, making his 28th career start in Game 4 of the National League Championship Series. On the other, Bryse Wilson, a 22-year-old rookie with a 5.91 career ERA, was making his playoff debut for the Atlanta Braves.

The Dodgers' superior pitching depth was supposed to shine for the second straight night. The Braves were supposed to wear it and move on. Instead, Wilson dominated over six innings and Kershaw's gas tank emptied before the Dodgers' bullpen combusted in the Braves' 10-2 victory at a windy Globe Life Field on Thursday.

The Atlanta Braves' Cristian Pache, left, and Johan Camargo celebrate in the dugout after teammate Marcell Ozuna hit a solo home run against the Los Angeles Dodgers during the fourth inning in Game 4 of the National League Championship Series at Globe Life Field in Arlington, Texas, on Thursday, Oct. 15, 2020. The Braves won, 10-2, for a 3-1 series lead. (Curtis Compton/Atlanta Journal-Constitution/TNS)

Suddenly, and unexpectedly, the Dodgers face a 3-1 series deficit. Their season could end Friday in a Game 5 scheduled for 6:08 p.m. PDT.

Wilson was the third straight rookie to start for the Braves. They went with him because they didn't have any other options and were prepared for a bullpen game. Wilson smashed those expectations.

A night after bludgeoning Kyle Wright, another right-handed rookie, and scoring a record 11 runs in the first inning, the Dodgers' aggressiveness worked against them Thursday. Wilson threw just 74 pitches in his six innings. He held Los Angeles to one hit _ a solo home run by Edwin Rios. He recorded five strikeouts to one walk.

Atlanta Braves first baseman Freddie Freeman, right, greets manager Brian Snitker after a 10-2 win against the Los Angeles Dodgers in Game 4 of the National League Championship Series at Globe Life Field in Arlington, Texas, on Thursday, Oct. 15, 2020. The Braves now hold a 3-1 series lead. (Curtis Compton/Atlanta Journal-Constitution/TNS)

Fours Braves relievers combined to allow one runs over the final three innings. The Dodgers have scored two runs in the 15 innings since setting a record with 15 runs in the first three innings of Game 3.

Kershaw was originally scheduled to start Game 2 on Tuesday. Those plans changed that morning when he was scratched because of back spasms. And yet, a few hours later, he threw an aggressive bullpen session. He was the obvious choice to start Thursday, but the Dodgers waited to reveal he would start until after Game 3.

Kershaw kept the Braves off the board until Marcell Ozuna crushed the first of his two home runs in the fourth inning. Atlanta barreled other balls but most found Dodgers fielders. Kershaw's fortune expired in the sixth.

Los Angeles Dodgers third baseman Justin Turner dives but can't reach a sixth-inning RBI double by the Atlanta Braves' Dansby Swanson in Game 4 of the National League Championship Series at Globe Life Field in Arlington, Texas, on Thursday, Oct. 15, 2020. (Robert Gauthier/Los Angeles Times/TNS)

Ronald Acuna Jr. led off with an infield hit and was given second on Kike Hernandez's throwing error. Freddie Freeman lined an RBI double to the right-field corner to give Atlanta a 2-1 lead.

By then, right-hander Brusdar Graterol, one of the Dodgers' few trusted high-leverage relievers, was warming in the bullpen. Ozuna, a right-handed hitting behemoth, was up next. His previous at-bat suggested he had figured out Kershaw. But Dodgers manager Dave Roberts let Kershaw face Ozuna. Moments later, Ozuna clobbered an RBI double to end Kershaw's night.

Graterol replaced Kershaw and flopped. Ozzie Albies singled. Dansby Swanson whacked a two-run double. Finally, Austin Riley delivered an RBI single to give Atlanta a six-run edge and force Graterol's exit.

Los Angeles Dodgers starting pitcher Clayton Kershaw talks with the home plate umpire after the first inning against the Atlanta Braves in Game 4 of the National League Championship Series at Globe Life Field in Arlington, Texas, on Thursday, Oct. 15, 2020. (Curtis Compton/Atlanta Journal-Constitution/TNS)

Kershaw was charged with four runs and seven hits with four walks and one walk. He threw 87 pitches. Graterol, who hadn't allowed an inherited runner to score before Thursday, was charged with three runs in one-third of an inning.

The roof was opened 45 minutes before the start of the game _ after both teams completed their batting practice sessions _ and the conditions immediately changed as the top slowly slid off. The temperature dropped and Globe Life Field became a wind tunnel.

Gusts fluctuated between six and 15 mph, blowing in from right field at first pitch. Uniforms flapped. Hair fluttered. The pitchers looked like they had fans blasting behind them. It became a hazard once dirt started swirling into players' eyes.

The Atlanta Braves' Dansby Swanson hits a two-run double against the Los Angeles Dodgers during the sixth inning in Game 4 of the National League Championship Series at Globe Life Field in Arlington, Texas, on Thursday, Oct. 15, 2020. The Braves won, 10-2, for a 3-1 series lead. (Curtis Compton/Atlanta Journal-Constitution/TNS)

The decision on the roof's status falls on Major League Baseball in the postseason. The league decided it would keep the ballpark topless for every playoff game unless rain was in the forecast, according to a person with knowledge of the situation.

The problem was that nobody _ not even the building's architects _ knew how the ballpark would handle strong wind. The elements were unprecedented for Globe Life Field, a $1.2 billion that opened this year. This was, essentially, a trial by error.

Rios had no problem with the elements in his first at-bat. The Dodgers' designated hitter swatted a solo home run to right field _ straight through the wind _ in the third inning for the game's first run.

The Atlanta Braves' Cristian Pache bunts the ball foul against the Los Angeles Dodgers during the third inning in Game 4 of the National League Championship Series at Globe Life Field in Arlington, Texas, on Thursday, Oct. 15, 2020. (Curtis Compton/Atlanta Journal-Constitution/TNS)

Joc Pederson didn't have the same luck. The left-handed-hitting slugger clobbered a flyball that died at the warning track in center field 411 feet from home plate with a runner on base. What could've been a two-run home run became the third out of the fourth inning.

The wind cost Los Angeles again in the seventh inning when AJ Pollock smashed a flyball to right field that the wind swallowed. It became a long, loud out. And in the ninth, Cody Bellinger was incredulous that his drive to right-center didn't clear the wall and instead was an out.

The Braves piled on over the last two innings and the Dodgers must win three games in three days to keep their World Series hopes alive.