Oct. 8, 2018, 5:19 p.m.
Baseball is not predicated on violence. The sport revolves around grace and grit, subtlety and subterfuge, deception and dexterity. The game does not celebrate the brutal.
Yet there is no other way to describe what transpired in the seventh inning on Monday: Manny Machado committed a violent act against a baseball, unleashing all his frustration and force on a 95-mph fastball, launching a concussive, three-run homer that solidified the Dodgers’ capture of the National League Division Series with a 6-2 victory in Game 4 over the Braves.
The blast stunned SunTrust Park and delighted the Dodgers. Inside the dugout, Rich Hill gasped. Clayton Kershaw skipped. Cody Bellinger held his arms aloft. Machado popped a wad of Dubble Bubble before rounding the bases. A parade of hitters flowed up the steps to greet him.
Oct. 8, 2018, 4:58 p.m.
BOTTOM OF EIGHTH: Kenta Maeda pitching. Camargo struck out swinging. Flowers grounded to third. Inciarte singled to center. Culberson singled to right, Inciarte to third. Lucas Duda, batting for the pitcher, hit a long foul ball that the crowd tried to wish fair for a home run. Then he flied to center and Bellinger held up the ball to show the fans to get them to stop that tomahawk chop.
Oct. 8, 2018, 4:50 p.m.
TOP OF EIGHTH: Matt Kemp, batting for Ferguson, grounded to third. Pederson singled to right-center and was thrown out attempting to stretch it into a double. Turner grounded to second. DODGERS 6, BRAVES 2
Oct. 8, 2018, 4:30 p.m.
BOTTOM OF SEVENTH: Pedro Baez stays on the mound. Albies grounded to second. Caleb Ferguson comes in to pitch to the left-handed Freeman. Freeman grounded to third. Markakis lined to center. DODGERS 6, BRAVES 2.
Oct. 8, 2018, 4:12 p.m.
TOP OF SEVENTH: Chad Sobotka pitching. Turner singled to right. Muncy walked. Machado homered to left. It’s now 6-2 Dodgers. Grandal grounded to second. Hernandez walked. Julio Teheran now pitching. Bellinger struck out swinging. Puig struck out swinging. DODGERS 6, BRAVES 2
Oct. 8, 2018, 3:53 p.m.
BOTTOM OF SIXTH: Pedro Baez now pitching. Culberson popped to second. Ryan Flaherty, batting for Fried, popped to third. Acuna flied to left. DODGERS 3, BRAVES 2
Oct. 8, 2018, 3:45 p.m.
TOP OF SIXTH: Grandal flied to center. Hernandez singled to left. Bellinger grounded to second, forcing Hernandez. Puig singled to right, Bellinger to third. David Freese, hitting for Madson. Right-hander Brad Brach replaces Venters. Puig stole second. Freese singled to center, scoring both runners. Maybe they should give Freese the big contract in the off-season and not Machado. He loves October baseball. Dodgers lead, 3-2. Left-hander Max Fried replaces Brach. Pederson lined to third.
Oct. 8, 2018, 3:25 p.m.
BOTTOM OF FIFTH: Albies popped to second. Freeman singled to third on a play Turner should have made. Markakis walked. Camargo grounded to short, but everyone is safe thanks to Machado’s error. Great series by Machado so far. I’d rather have Curtis Granderson back. And that will be it for Rich Hill. His defense and a tight strike zone betrayed him today. Ryan Madson is now pitching. He gets Flowers to pop to the catcher and Inciarte to pop to short. Great pitching by Madson to leave the bases loaded. BRAVES 2, DODGERS 1.
Oct. 8, 2018, 3:08 p.m.
TOP OF FIFTH: Jonny Venters now pitching for the Braves. Pederson struck out swinging. Turner walked. Muncy grounded to short, forcing Turner at second. Machado grounded to second. BRAVES 2, DODGERS 1.
Oct. 8, 2018, 2:57 p.m.
BOTTOM OF FOURTH: Camargo walked. That’s seven walks in this game in 3+ innings. The plate umpire must be getting paid for each walk. Flowers walked. That’s eight walks. Inciarte sacrificed. Runners on second and third, one out. Culberson grounded to third, runners holding. Atlanta rolls the dice and has Kurt Suzuki hit for Foltynewicz. And it pays off. Suzuki singles to left-center, scoring both runners. Acuna grounded to third. Now, can the Atlanta bullpen keep the Dodgers from scoring for the next five innings? BRAVES 2, DODGERS 1.