Braves vs Dodgers final score: Dodgers win 4-3 to clinch NLCS ticket
By Chris Lacey
The Dodgers risk to have their ace Clayton Kershaw pitch on three days rest worked out after all. The talented lefty once again stymied Braves hitters with six quality innings pitched and he only gave up two unearned runs.
Los Angeles scored the first run of the game courtesy of a Carl Crawford home run in the first inning. Then in the third inning Crawford hit another bomb to put the Dodgers up by two runs.
Atlanta scored their first run of the game from a single by Chris Johnson in the fourth inning. Then later in the inning Andrelton Simmons grounded into force out that pushed another run across for the Braves. The seventh inning had Jose Constanza single to center field and that allowed Atlanta to have a 3-2 lead for the moment.
The Dodgers in the eighth inning got a leadoff double from Yasiel Puig and then Juan Uribe put Los Angeles in front with a two-run home run off reliever David Carpenter. The Braves had hope that maybe in the ninth inning they could rally off reliever Kenley Jansen.
Jansen pitched a flawless ninth inning and sent the Dodgers to the NLCS. They will either play the St.Louis Cardinals or the Pittsburgh Pirates in the NLCS.
This is their third trip to the NLCS in the last six seasons. Whichever team they go up against will have a tough time scoring runs. The Dodgers pitching staff held the Braves offense to just 14 runs over four games in the series.