Dodgers know they must break their reliance on home runs to beat Braves

The most impressive number the Dodgers put up this season was 100 — the games they won. They had to do a lot of things right to get there.

No Dodger ranked among the top 16 in the majors in home runs or the top 37 in RBIs, yet they were fourth in runs scored. How? They were third in the majors in walks and near the bottom in strikeouts, which allowed them to manufacture runs by stringing together long innings rather than relying on the long ball.

Two games into the postseason, that script has flipped. After Sunday’s 3-2 loss to the Braves, the Dodgers head to Atlanta with their best-of-five National League Division Series tied. Suddenly the Braves, who will start ace Chris Sale on Tuesday, have the edge.

“Getting the split in this place against these guys, yeah, it’s awesome,” Braves manager Walt Weiss said.

All seven of the Dodgers’ runs in the NLDS have come on five home runs, three of them with the bases empty. The Dodgers are 0 for 9 with men in scoring position, stranding 13 runners. They’ve also struck out three times more often than they’ve walked and are batting .215 against the relay team of 10 pitchers Atlanta has used.

“We didn’t throw out a bunch of hits, but there was still traffic,” Dodgers manager Dave Roberts said. “We didn’t need many hits tonight to have a different result, and we just couldn’t get it.”

Sure it’s a small sample; just two games. Yet it should be a troubling one for the Dodgers, the two-time defending World Series champions.

“Sometimes it’s just you can’t hit,” said Mookie Betts, who walked twice. “I mean, there’s nothing really you can do to explain that. You’ve just got to be in the moment and come through. We had some moments today [when] we didn’t come through.

“That’s part of the game. We’ve just got to keep giving ourselves moments, and eventually something will happen.”

“We’ve got to find a way to score some runs without hitting a home run,” added Freddie Freeman, who homered Sunday and has three hits in the series. “That’s our biggest thing right now. So keep getting guys on base and get that big hit.”

Freeman said the Braves have done a good job keeping the Dodgers hitters off-balance by emptying their bullpen, sending in a fresh pitcher every couple of innings.

“It’s tough because you’re facing a different arm every single time you’re going up there,” Freeman said. “It’s different angles, different velocities, different things. So stringing hits together is very hard.

“This is the playoffs. We’re not going to score eight to 10 runs. It’s hard. Pitching staffs are good.”

Dodgers outfielder Teoscar Hernández wondered whether the Braves’ game plan might soon backfire. Aside from Sale, Weiss has few pitchers left the Dodgers haven’t seen; eventually they’ll catch up, he says.

“We’ve seen basically the best out of the bullpen,” Hernández said. “We can have a better plan for Tuesday and Wednesday.”

Will Smith reacts after popping out during the fifth inning in the Dodgers’ 3-2 loss to the Braves on Sunday.

(Eric Thayer / Los Angeles Times)

Although the Dodgers committed the second-fewest errors and gave up the fewest unearned runs this season, they haven’t looked sharp defensively in the postseason, with all three Atlanta runs Sunday coming with two outs.

The Braves loaded the bases in the first inning on a single and two walks before scoring when a diving Betts snared a Mauricio Dubón grounder up the middle, but threw wild and late to first, enabling Ronald Acuña Jr. to score. They then went ahead to stay in the fifth on a line drive to left that Hernández misplayed into a triple, followed by reliever Kris Bubic’s wild pitch.

“I didn’t think he hit it that good,” Hernández said. “I didn’t break in, but I broke to the side. And then when I realized, it was too late.”

Atlanta’s final run came in the seventh when Michael Harris II one-hopped the wall in right-center, allowing Matt Olson, running from first on the full-count pitch, to score.

Now the advantage swings to the Braves, who go to Truist Park, where they had the second-best home record in the league.

“We knew it was going to be a battle. We knew those guys weren’t going to go down,” Roberts said of the Braves.

“Now it’s a three-game series.”