Atlanta Braves rookie Ronald Acuna Jr. leaps in celebration after Sunday's 6-5 win against the Los Angeles Dodgers in Game 3 of their NL Division Series at SunTrust Park in Atlanta.ATLANTA - It may have taken the Atlanta Braves three playoff games to score their first run in their National League Division Series against the Los Angeles Dodgers, but it's going to take the Dodgers at least four games to finish them off.
The Braves, of course, would like to avoid that fate altogether and hang around for the next round of the playoffs.
Thanks to a sixth-inning solo home run from California native Freddie Freeman, the Braves - who had been the first team since the 1921 New York Giants to be shut out in the first two games of an MLB playoff series - knocked off the Dodgers 6-5 Sunday night to stay alive in the best-of-five series.
With the Dodgers' series lead cut to a game, Game 4 is at 4:30 p.m. today at SunTrust Park. A fifth game, if necessary, would be Wednesday night in Los Angeles.
"That's what it's all about," Freeman said. "You have to give yourself a chance."
The Braves did everything they could to give themselves a chance before this one started. Recent Hall of Fame inductee Chipper Jones threw out the ceremonial first pitch. All-time legend Hank Aaron then briefly addressed the record crowd of 42,385 just prior to the start of the game, imploring the Braves: "Let's play ball."
After a scoreless first inning, Atlanta did just that. Suddenly wild Dodgers starting pitcher Walker Buehler, a former Vanderbilt University standout, walked home a run - the Braves' first of the series - after loading the bases. Most shocking of that sequence was Buehler walking Atlanta starting pitcher Sean Newcomb on four straight pitches.
The Atlanta Braves' Ronald Acuna Jr. rounds the bases after hitting a grand slam Sunday night during Game 3 of the NL Division Series against the Los Angeles Dodgers in Atlanta.Then rookie Ronald Acuna Jr. came to the plate, and the real fun began for the Braves and their fans. Lifting a ball over the fence in left-center field, the 20-year-old rookie became the youngest player ever to blast a grand slam in a postseason game. The previous youngest was Hall of Fame royalty Mickey Mantle, who was 21 when he homered in Game 5 of the 1953 World Series for the New York Yankees.
Said fellow young star Ozzie Albies, who was on base at the time, "I knew (Acuna) was going to hit it, and he did."
Acuna's slam put the Braves on top 5-0, but the Dodgers weren't about to go quietly into the warm, humid night. They got two runs back in the third inning, then used a two-run homer from Chris Taylor and a solo shot from Max Muncy in the fifth to tie the game.
But when the Dodgers failed to score in the top of the sixth despite loading the bases, Freeman made them pay in the bottom of the inning.
Facing former teammate Alex Wood while being serenaded by boisterous chants of "Fred-eeee! Fred-eee!" from the Atlanta faithful, Freeman flattened a ball to right to put the Braves back on top.
When Aroydys Vizcaino struck out the side in the ninth to earn a shaky save - the Dodgers ended up with runners at second and third after he allowed a hit and a walk and threw a wild pitch - the Braves had their first victory of the series.
Contact Mark Wiedmer at mwiedmer@timesfreepress.com.