ATLANTA — When the Los Angeles Dodgers bolstered their already power-packed lineup with slugging shortstop Manny Machado, this is just what they had in mind.
Plenty of long balls. Another deep run in the postseason.
Next stop, the NL Championship Series for the third year in a row.
Machado drove in four runs – three of them with a seventh-inning shot into the left-field seats – and the Dodgers finished off the Atlanta Braves with a 6-2 victory Monday in the NL Division Series.
“There are so many expectations put on him,” Dodgers Manager Dave Roberts said. “We have a lot of good players, but I can’t say enough about his focus and preparedness.”
Los Angeles took the best-of-five series 3-1 and advanced to face the Brewers. Game 1 is Friday night in Milwaukee.
Coming off a tense victory in Game 3, the Baby Braves grabbed the lead on pinch-hitter Kurt Suzuki’s two-run single in the fourth.
But David Freese, the 2011 World Series MVP with St. Louis, came through again in the postseason. He delivered a pinch-hit single in the sixth off Brad Brach, driving home Cody Bellinger and Yasiel Puig for a 3-2 lead.
Machado finished off Atlanta in the seventh, launching a 1-2 pitch from rookie Chad Sobotka over the Dodgers’ bullpen – his team’s eighth homer of the series. A free-agent-to-be acquired from Baltimore in July, Machado also had a run-scoring double in the first.
He had only three hits in the series, but two of them were homers, along with six RBI.
“I’m just sitting here enjoying everything, enjoying the ride,” Machado said.
Ryan Madson (1-0) earned the win by getting the final two outs in the fifth to escape a bases-loaded jam. The Braves’ final gasp came in the eighth, when Lucas Duda’s drive into the second deck in right drifted foul with two on against Kenta Maeda. Duda flied out to end the inning, and Atlanta went down quietly in the ninth.
The Dodgers celebrated briefly and posed for pictures in the middle of SunTrust Park, but they have much bigger goals. Los Angeles is seeking its first World Series title since 1988.
“We all know that there’s a lot more work to be done,” Roberts said. “We have eight more wins to go.”
Atlanta’s return to the postseason for the first time since 2013 yielded a familiar result. The Braves have lost nine straight playoff appearances.
Getting back to the playoffs ahead of schedule after a massive rebuild, Atlanta simply didn’t have the experience, depth or power to stick with the Dodgers. Los Angeles had a franchise-record 235 homers during the regular season and hit eight more against the Braves, accounting for 14 of its 20 runs.
“They’re a very powerful team,” Braves Manager Brian Snitker said. “It’s what they’ve done all year is hit home runs. We’re not built like that yet.”
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