Eyebrows were raised when Walt Weiss decided to take a gamble and lean on the bullpen for the third straight game—and second consecutive contest against the Dodgers—in Game 2 of the NLDS. That gamble paid off in a big way, and it may well have flipped the NLDS on its head.
After suffering a loss to Tarik Skubal and the Dodgers in Game 1, many expected Chris Sale to take the mound as the starter in Game 2. Sale, however, closed out the finale of the wild-card series against the Phillies on Thursday, meaning he’d be pitching on just two days of rest if he started Sunday’s showdown. Rather than risk potentially overworking Sale and not having him at full strength, Weiss once again put his faith in Atlanta’s group of relievers, and they delivered a masterclass, limiting the star-studded L.A. lineup to just six hits and two runs.
