The Game

I was driving home from Yale’s opening home game today and for some odd technological reason I lost the Braves radio broadcast after the second inning. When I got home, it was 2-0 Dodgers. The first pitch I saw when I got home was a Sean Murphy homer, followed by a long Braves batting inning in which the Braves didn’t score any more, but made Skubal work. Good enough, I thought.

Enter AJ Smith-Shawver. Exit a couple of baseballs. Enter three Dodger runs. The Miracle will have to wait for another day.

As 1.2 million commenters on bullpen games have mentioned, when four or five relievers are used, all of them have to perform, and the chance that one won’t dooms you. I’m actually not sure that argument is correct statistically, but I’ll stick with everyone else’s opinion for the moment.

At least as importantly, you can’t win many games with two hits.

The 9th was interesting. An Acuña single and Ozhaino homer made it 5-3. Had Smith-Shawver not blown up, that might have been an all-time dagger. Then a Dubón walk brought Riley to the palte as the tying run. Oh well.

This series is still winnable, but it’s going to require one or more players playing at beyond their established levels. There’s no reason that can’t happen, so flush this one and pick it up tomorrow.

John Smoltz

Please talk less. And when you do talk, try not to make the game all a battle of psychology and omens and feels. Please. Seriously. You have interesting things to say, but you bury them in mountains of woo.