Cody Bellinger, Dodgers Blow Out Braves in NLCS Game 3 with Historic Inning

The Los Angeles Dodgers notched their first victory of the National League Championship Series on Wednesday and avoided the brink of elimination for at least 24 hours.

After falling into a 2-0 series deficit, the Dodgers took Game 3 against the Atlanta Braves in historic fashion, 15-3, at Globe Life Field in Arlington, Texas.

It took just two pitches from Atlanta starter Kyle Wright for Los Angeles to grab the lead. Leadoff batter Mookie Betts beat out a grounder down the third-base line before Corey Seager doubled him home on a line drive to left-center field.

Wright lasted just 28 pitches before manager Brian Snitker pulled him with the Braves down 6-0 and the first inning still not over. The Dodgers would score a record 11 runs in the opening frame, giving their starter, Julio Urias, plenty of run support before he even took the mound.

Notable Performers

Corey Seager, SS, Los Angeles Dodgers: 4 AB, 3 H, 3 R, 3 RBI, 1 HR

Max Muncy, 1B, Los Angeles Dodgers: 4 AB, 2 H, 2 R, 4 RBI, 1 GS

Julio Urias, SP, Los Angeles Dodgers: 5 IP, 3 H, 1 ER, 2 BB, 5 K

Cristian Pache, OF, Atlanta Braves: 4 AB, 1 H, 1 R, 1 RBI, 1 HR

Kyle Wright, SP, Atlanta Braves: 0.2 IP, 5 H, 7 ER, 2 BB, 0 K

Grant Dayton, RP, Atlanta Braves: 2 IP, 8 H, 8 ER, 1 BB, 2 K

Dodgers' Historic 1st Inning

The only challenge the Dodgers faced in the first inning came by request of Betts.

Initially called out at first base after slapping the first pitch he saw from Wright down the third-base line, Betts immediately turned to his dugout to demand manager Dave Roberts review the play.

The leadoff hitter knew he'd forced an awkward throw from third baseman Johan Camargo and was certain—and correct—that he beat the toss to Freddie Freeman.

Once the call was overturned, Seager drilled Wright's next pitch straight into the left-field gap to score Betts from first, and the Dodgers offense had officially woken up.

Wright would get the first two outs of the frame with groundouts by Max Muncy and Justin Turner, but by then, Los Angeles had figured him out.

A Will Smith double with two outs scored Seager, Cody Bellinger walked and Joc Pederson homered all over the course of 10 pitches to give L.A. a 5-0 lead, and Wright's troubles still weren't over. After giving up a solo homer to Edwin Rios and another walk to Chris Taylor, Snitker finally called in Grant Dayton to relieve Wright.

It wasn't the fresh start Atlanta needed, as Dayton loaded the bases before giving up a grand slam to Muncy.

The Braves finally got out of the inning down 11-0 as the Dodgers shattered records few have had reason to consider:

• 11 runs scored by L.A. were the most in any single inning of postseason history, per ESPN Stats & Info
• 14 batters sent to the plate by L.A. ties for the most in the first inning of a playoff game in MLB history, tying the St. Louis Cardinals in 2019, also against Atlanta, per ESPN Stats & Info
• Kyle Wright allowed more runs in 0.2 innings than the Braves did in their previous 64 postseason innings, per ESPN's Jeff Passan
• The Dodgers set a Statcast record with five base hits clocking 105-plus miles per hour in one inning
• The Dodgers are the first team in postseason history with three home runs in the first inning, per MLB.com's Sarah Langs
• Kyle Wright is the first starter in MLB history to allow seven-plus earned runs and pitch less than one inning in a postseason game, per Katie Sharp of Talkin' Yanks
• Max Muncy is the first player in MLB history to hit a grand slam during his second plate appearance of an inning in the postseason, per Ryan M. Spaeder
• 10 of the Dodgers' 11 runs in the first inning came with two outs
• Every player in the Dodgers' starting lineup scored a run in the first inning

The series lead may still belong to the Braves after Game 3, but there is no question which team is in control heading into Game 4.

Rotation Questions Linger for Atlanta

If the Braves feel Wright's issues Wednesday are easily correctable, there's a bit of good news from Game 3's loss: Their No. 3 starter only tossed 28 pitches. Should the club's pitching coaches feel Wright needs more than minor tweaks, Game 3 may finally have exposed Atlanta.

Starting pitching was meant to serve as one of the Braves' strengths in the postseason—even with Mike Soroka out for the year with an Achilles injury. Now it appears Atlanta has just two surefire starters with Max Fried and Ian Anderson.

Part of what made the Braves' first-inning meltdown so stunning is just how solid Wright looked his last time out. Facing the Miami Marlins in Game 3 of the NL Division Series, Wright dazzled with three hits, seven strikeouts, two walks and no runs allowed in six innings. A week later, an admittedly much tougher Dodgers lineup had him doubting his own arsenal.

It was barely a year ago the Braves gave up 10 runs in the first inning to the St. Louis Cardinals during a winner-take-all Game 5 in the NLDS. The starter for Atlanta was a similarly well-rested Mike Foltynewicz, also coming off a seven strikeout performance with three hits. After his first inning meltdown, the Braves gave Foltynewicz one more regular season start in 2020 before designating him for assignment.

Atlanta needs to find a way to make sure whatever happened with Foltynewicz last year doesn't happen to Wright now.

The Braves still hold a 2-1 series lead and have shown an ability to score runs consistently throughout the postseason. That wasn't the case in 2019, when their hitters struggled to score more than four runs in any game of the playoffs after plating six runs in Game 1 against St. Louis.

Following Game 5, both Snitker and general manager Alex Anthopoulos said the loss wasn't representative of Atlanta and felt the odds of it happening were so astronomical it didn't warrant addressing.

"I'll be honest with you, I think that probably in my first meeting at spring training, I'm not going to have to tell these guys," Snitker said after the season. "I mean, the way they went about it last year, I've got a feeling that they're going to be even more ready to get the season going next year because there's some unfinished business."

Added Anthopoulos: "It happened so quick, there was nothing we could do. I don't know that anything we did with our roster, anything we did with our rotation was wrong. I think everything worked, actually."

There's no avoiding the topic anymore. The loss that hung over the offseason has returned with a vengeance in 2020. To find redemption, the Braves need long-term solutions as quick as possible.

What's Next?

Game 4 of the NLCS is set for Thursday with first pitch at 8:08 p.m. ET on Fox.

Bryse Wilson is expected to take the mound for Atlanta with Clayton Kershaw likely going for Los Angeles.