3 things to watch for in L.A. Dodgers-Atlanta Braves Game 7
The Dodgers and Braves are headed for a decisive, winner-take-all Game 7 of the NLCS on Sunday
Game 7, the two most glorious words in baseball. It’s a chance for sudden heroes to be made, for the fortunes of a franchise to be determined on one pitch.
The Atlanta Braves and Los Angeles Dodgers will play a winner-take-all game on Sunday to determine who will represent the National League in the World Series beginning on Tuesday. The Dodgers forced a seventh and deciding game with a 3-1 win in Game 6 on Saturday at Globe Life Field, their second straight win to erase a 3-1 series deficit.
The Dodgers have much more experience with the pressure-cooker that is Game 7. Two seasons ago, they went on the road to beat the Milwaukee Brewers in the NLCS. The Braves, meanwhile, haven’t played a Game 7 in 24 years. Only two of their players, reserve infielder Charlie Culberson and relief pitcher Darren O’Day, have ever participated in a Game 7.
That experience might not mean much by the time the game begins on Sunday, but momentum might. The Dodgers are riding high. The Braves, meanwhile, need to regroup and focus on the fact they’re just one win away from the Fall Classic.
There are plenty of questions facing both teams heading into the biggest game of the season. Here are three things to watch for in Game 7 on Sunday.
1. Will the Dodgers or Braves rookie will pitch better?
Ian Anderson began the 2020 season at the Braves’ alternate site in Gwinnett. He’ll look to extend it when he takes the ball on Sunday for the biggest game for the franchise in two decades.
Anderson, with just six career regular-season starts after being called up in late August, is the Braves’ likely starter for Game 7 of the NLCS against the Dodgers. That’s the fewest career starts by a Game 7 starter since Brooklyn’s Joe Black (two) in 1952.
But Anderson hasn’t pitched like someone who’s spent less than two months in the big leagues. He’s yet to give up a run in 15.2 innings this postseason. He shut out the Dodgers in Game 2, working around a career-high five walks and surrendering only one hit over four innings. He’s only the second pitcher in history to begin his postseason career with three consecutive scoreless starts, joining Hall-of-Famer Christy Mathewson.
The Dodgers may very well have their own rookie on the mound in Game 7, at least at first. Tony Gonsolin retired the first nine Braves he faced in Game 2 before a leadoff walk to Ronald Acuna in the fourth inning, followed by a line drive home run by Freddie Freeman. He was pulled in the fifth after walking two and giving up an RBI double to rookie Cristian Pache, being charged with five earned runs in 4.1 innings but striking out seven.
Both rookies had something working for them the first time around that they won’t have in Game 7: the element of surprise. Both opposing lineups got a long look at both of them in Game 2. Anderson has only faced one team, the Marlins, more than once in his short career.