Well, the Atlanta Braves are in a bind in the NLDS. Coming back home with a 1-1 record, Atlanta was looking to take a decisive 2-1 lead over the Los Angeles Dodgers. A win in Game 3 would have given them a chance to close out the defending champions while they were in their home territory.
Unfortunately, the Braves were not able to finish the job. Against Yoshinobu Yamamoto, Atlanta's hitting lineup struggled once again, recording just one run in the game. Manager Walt Weiss made an interesting move in Game 3, moving Ronald Acuna Jr. to the DH role. To accommodate the move, Ha-Seong Kim entered the starting lineup at the shortstop position. Lane Thomas was moved from left to right field, and Mauricio Dubon moved from shortstop to left field.
“Ronald was originally in right field in game two; I think in the first inning, he slid into second [and] jammed up his knee,” Weiss said, per MLB Network. “I mean, he was fine. He played the rest of the game without issue. Came in sore today, and so we made that switch, but, you know, prior to the game, we had him at DH instead of running around in right field.”
Article Continues BelowAgainst the Dodgers in Game 3, the Braves struggled to score. They got four hits off of Yamamoto in seven innings, but it only resulted in one run. Atlanta's vaunted offensive attack struggled, with Acuna going 0-for-3 and recording just one walk. Kim was 0-for-1 in his lone at-bat. It was a brutal night for the Braves, who were unable to bail out their ace, Chris Sale (5 IP, 7 hits, 7 Ks, 3 earned runs).
The Braves will now have a monumental task on their hands in the next two games. Not only do they have to fend off the Dodgers in Game 4, but should they win that game, they'll have to go into Game 5 against a raucous LA crowd. Tyler Mahle will get the ball for Atlanta in Game 4, facing off against Tyler Glasnow.

