2020 National League Championship Series

The game was a pitchers' duel between Walker Buehler and Max Fried, both of whom allowed only one run on solo homers (Freddie Freeman for the Braves and Kiké Hernández for the Dodgers). However, the Dodgers bullpen gave up the game in the ninth inning with Blake Treinen allowing the go-ahead homer to Austin Riley and then Ozzie Albies hit a two-run homer off Jake McGee to put the game out of reach as the Braves won, 5–1. Mark Melancon, warming up in the bullpen, looked up and caught Albies's ninth-inning home run ball on the fly.[15]

Clayton Kershaw was originally scheduled to start Game 2 but he was scratched due to back spasms. Rookie Tony Gonsolin started instead.[16] Freeman opened the scoring in the fourth with a two-run homer. With one out in the fifth, Gonsolin and Pedro Baez combined to allow four walks and two hits as Atlanta took a 6–0 lead. After Ian Anderson and Tyler Matzek started the game with six scoreless innings, the Dodgers came back against the Braves bullpen. Corey Seager hit a three-run homer in the seventh, making it 7–3. In the top of the ninth, a home run by Ozzie Albies added what turned out to be a crucial insurance run. For the second night in a row, Mark Melancon was warming up in the Braves' bullpen and caught Albies's home run on the fly. The Dodgers staged a rally in the bottom of the ninth, thanks to a double by Seager, a homer by Max Muncy and a triple by Cody Bellinger. However, the Braves held on to win 8–7 to take a two games to none lead in the series.[17]

In Game 3, the Dodgers jumped on Braves starter Kyle Wright early, scoring 11 runs in the first inning with Edwin Ríos hitting a solo homer, Joc Pederson a three-run homer and Max Muncy a grand slam, aided by a lead off overturned out call on Mookie Betts into an infield single (had the call stood, it would have been a shutout inning). They added on with a Cody Bellinger home run in the second followed by a Corey Seager homer in the third. Julio Urías allowed only one run in his five innings of work, with five strikeouts. The 11 runs in the first inning set a new MLB record for the most runs ever scored by one team in any inning of a postseason game. The Dodgers won the game 15–3.[18]

Clayton Kershaw, who was originally scheduled to start Game 2, started for the Dodgers. For the Braves, rookie Bryse Wilson took the mound. Wilson was making only his eighth career start, and his first in the postseason. It was a pitchers' duel going into the sixth inning, with each starting pitcher giving up a solo home run (Wilson to Edwin Ríos and Kershaw to Marcell Ozuna). For Wilson, the home run was the only hit he allowed in six innings of work. In the bottom of the sixth inning, the Braves broke the game open with six runs, and eleven batters coming to the plate. As a result of this 10–2 victory, the Braves were one victory away from the 2020 World Series.[19]

The Braves took a 2–0 lead after two innings off of Dustin May and the Braves' A. J. Minter struck out seven while allowing only one hit in three scoreless innings. A baserunning mistake cost the Braves a run in the bottom of the third inning when Marcell Ozuna was initially ruled to have scored after he safely touched home on a Dansby Swanson sacrifice fly to right that Mookie Betts caught near his feet in spectacular fashion; after an appeal play at third and an instant replay review, Ozuna was ruled out for failing to tag up (i.e., he did not retouch third base after Betts caught the ball) and the run was taken off the board on the inning-ending double play. The Dodgers got one back in the fourth on a solo homer by Corey Seager – the first batter after the overturned call – then took the lead in the sixth when Dodgers catcher Will Smith homered off Braves reliever Will Smith. This was the first matchup between two players of the same name in playoff history. Betts drove in a run with a single in the seventh, followed by a two-run homer by Seager, his second of the night. The Dodgers held on to win 7–3, to extend their season.[20]

In the sixth game of the series, the Dodgers got off to a strong start with three runs in the first off Max Fried, including solo homers by Corey Seager and Justin Turner. With his homer, Seager set a new record for the most home runs in the NLCS with five and passed Iván Rodríguez (2003) for most RBI in an NLCS with eleven. Buehler struck out six in six scoreless innings with help from Mookie Betts, who made another spectacular catch to rob Marcell Ozuna of extra bases in the fifth inning. Ronald Acuña Jr. doubled off the first reliever Blake Treinen to put the Braves on the board in the seventh inning. Fried did not allow any further runs as he went 62⁄3 innings, with eight hits and four walks allowed with five strikeouts. The Dodgers won 3–1 to force a seventh game.[21]

For the television broadcast by Fox Sports, Joe Davis filled-in for regular play-by-play announcer Joe Buck, due to Buck's obligation to commentate NFL on Fox.[22] By coincidence, Davis is the Dodgers' TV play-by-play announcer.

Ian Anderson started Game 7 for the Braves opposite Dustin May, who served as an opener on one day's rest for the Dodgers. May walked a couple in the first and gave up the first run of the game on a single to Marcell Ozuna. Tony Gonsolin came in to pitch in the second and allowed a solo homer to Dansby Swanson. The Dodgers tied up the game in the third on a two-run single by Will Smith. In the fourth, Gonsolin walked the first two batters and then allowed an RBI single to Austin Riley to put the Braves back on top. However, the damage that inning was limited when, with runners on second and third and nobody out, Justin Turner fielded a Nick Markakis ground ball and alertly threw home to prevent Swanson from scoring; in the ensuing rundown, Turner dove to tag Swanson's shoe and then scrambled to his knees to throw out Riley trying to advance to third for an unusual 5–2–5–6 double play. For the third straight game, Mookie Betts made a game/series saving catch robbing Freddie Freeman of a home run in the fifth inning.[23] In the sixth inning, Kiké Hernández homered off A. J. Minter to tie it back up. Cody Bellinger gave the Dodgers their first lead of the game on a solo homer off Chris Martin in the seventh inning. Julio Urías pitched the last three innings to pick up the win as the Dodgers held on for the 4–3 victory. He retired Riley on a flyout to Bellinger to end the Braves' season and win their third NL pennant in the last four seasons.[24]

The Dodgers became the first team ever to win a League Championship Series after losing the first two games at what was considered "home field".

2020 NLCS (4–3): Los Angeles Dodgers beat Atlanta Braves