Braves 3-2 Dodgers: Harris II and a bullpen plan even the NLDS, and Sale waits at Truist

The plan everyone second-guessed paid off. The Braves held Chris Sale back, threw a bullpen game at the 100-win Dodgers, and walked out of Dodger Stadium with a 3-2 win that evened the NLDS at a game apiece. Michael Harris II was the star, the bullpen was the story, and now the series comes back to Truist with Sale on the mound.

Harris II, a homer short of the cycle

Michael Harris II tripled in the fifth and scored the go-ahead run on Kris Bubic's wild pitch, then added an insurance RBI double off Edgardo Henriquez in the seventh. He finished 3-for-5 with a single, a triple and a double — coming up a home run short of the cycle. He's the fifth Brave ever with a double and a triple in the same playoff game, joining Acuña, DeRosa, Lemke and Gowdy. That's the guy Atlanta needs to be the spark in October.

The bullpen plan worked

Ray Kerr opened and threw 2 2/3 scoreless, retiring Shohei Ohtani twice after Ohtani had been a non-factor in Game 1, too. Then the Braves' relief corps retired 14 consecutive Dodgers from the fifth inning on. Robert Suarez escaped a bases-loaded, nobody-out jam in the fifth. Didier Fuentes worked into the ninth. And Raisel Iglesias got the final out — after Max Muncy's two-run homer made it 3-2 — for his second save of the postseason. The decision to save Sale for Game 3 looked like a gamble. It looked like a chess move by the time the ninth was over.

Snell never found it

Blake Snell, the Dodgers' Game 2 starter, threw 90 pitches over 3 2/3 innings and never got comfortable — five walks, just 47 strikes. Freddie Freeman tied it at 1 with a solo homer in the fourth, his first extra-base hit in over a month and the 13th tying-or-go-ahead postseason homer of his career. But the Dodgers stranded seven runners in the first five innings, and the Braves made them pay every time they didn't cash in.

Sale gets Game 3 at Truist

After a travel day, the Braves hand the ball to Chris Sale on extra rest Tuesday at Truist Park against Yoshinobu Yamamoto. This was the whole point of the plan — get the series back to Atlanta even, with the ace rested and pointed at the biggest start of the year. Game 4 would be Tyler Mahle. The 100-win Dodgers are still the favorite, but the Braves just stole home-field momentum and put their best arm on the mound.

Bird Gang bottom line

The Braves didn't just survive L.A.; they took the split and turned the series into a best-of-three with Chris Sale on the ball at home. Harris II is playing like the playoff version of himself, the bullpen answered every question, and now the pressure flips to the Dodgers. If you're picking this series, the Braves just made themselves the value side. Lock in your Game 3 and your NFL slate at pickembaby.com — free leagues, live standings, and the AI analyst in your corner.

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