Dodgers win NLDS over Braves, continue march for World Series three-peat

ATLANTA –– Edwin Díaz fired a fastball.Austin Riley lifted it harmlessly to right.

And exactly one week into October, the Dodgers completed their first step toward a third-straight World Series championship.With a 4-1 win over the Atlanta Braves on Wednesday, the Dodgers won their National League Division Series three games to one.They celebrated their progression to the NL Championship Series with a simple procession near the mound.They didn’t dogpile on each other.They didn’t come sprinting out of the dugout as Truist Park fell silent around them.After all, this was not the end goal for the two-time defending champions, who are trying to become the first team in NL history, and third franchise in MLB history, to complete a World Series three-peat triumph.But still, it was an important test, one that –– a brief scare after Sunday’s Game 2 loss, aside –– they found a way to grind through successfully.This time, Andy Pages played the hero, breaking a 1-1 tie in the seventh inning with a go-ahead two-run single.From there, the Dodgers bullpen took care of the rest, following up a 4 ⅔-inning start from Tyler Glasnow with 5 ⅓ spotless frames to close out the series.Now, the Dodgers will await either the Milwaukee Brewers or San Diego Padres in the NLCS.

Game 1 will be on Sunday either in Milwaukee (if the Brewers advance) or Dodger Stadium (if the Padres can rally).Either way, they will be favored to win the pennant.In case the baseball world needed another reminder, they have found a formula for consistent, relentless, inevitable postseason success. The Braves struck first Wednesday.Michael Harris II, who was moved into the leadoff spot to jump-start Atlanta’s slumping lineup, ambushed a first-pitch fastball from Glasnow for a single, stole second and advanced to third on grounder, then scored after making an excellent (and aggressive) read on a two-out, two-strike curveball that Glasnow bounced into the dirt and off Will Smith’s chest pr...