The Los Angeles Dodgers' title defense hit a roadblock on Sunday as they suffered a 3-2 defeat to the Atlanta Braves in Game 2 of the NLDS. While the best-of-five series is still just tied at 1-1, the Dodgers have now lost homefield advantage, as the Braves have an opportunity to send LA home if they win both of their upcoming games at Truist Park.

LA's offense did not show up on Sunday. As Freddie Freeman said, the Dodgers need to put runs on the board without having to rely on the long ball, as they scored both of their runs on Sunday via dingers from Freeman and Max Muncy.

For Mookie Betts, who didn't get a hit on Sunday but drew two talks, he and the Dodgers know that the road ahead is not going to be easy. They've been there and done that, having won the World Series back-to-back, and it's not about to get any easier for them in their quest for their third-consecutive title.

“It's just not gonna be easy, but I mean we knew that from the beginning… We know it's gonna be a tough matchup, no matter who's on the mound,” Betts said, via SportsNet LA on X.

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Indeed, the Dodgers cannot take the Braves lightly, even though Atlanta's pitching depth is being stretched thin at the moment. They had to put together another bullpen game, but everyone for the Braves played their part. It helped that opener Ray Kerr set the tone by throwing 2.2 scoreless innings.

Now, the Dodgers have to win at least one game against Chris Sale and Tyler Mahle, with the two being scheduled to start Game 3 and Game 4, respectively, if they were to escape this series and head to the NLCS. That is a tall order, especially on the road, so LA will have to lock in lest they risk letting their three-peat hopes dissipate in a hurry.