Dodgers vs. Braves score: Live NLCS updates, highlights as Chris Taylor and AJ Pollock power Los Angeles to a Game 5 win (2024)

The Dodgers beat the Braves 11-2 in Game 5 on Thursday and now trail 3-2 in the best-of-seven National League Championship Series. Chris Taylor hit three home runs and drove in six runs while AJ Pollock added two home runs and drove in four. Now, the defending World Series champions head back to Atlanta with ace Max Scherzer lined up to start Game 6 with Walker Buehler poised for a potential Game 7. Can the Dodgers come back from down 3-1 to the Braves for the second NLCS in a row?

Game 5 reads

• McCullough: Dave Roberts got his wish — somehow, the Dodgers are going to Atlanta (Andy McCullough)
• Dodgers stave off elimination as Chris Taylor cements his place in postseason lore (Fabian Ardaya)
• Schultz: Braves show us their alternate selves, but this isn’t the time to assume doom (Jeff Schultz)

Background reading

• Braves at Dodgers Game 5 picks: Expert selections, odds as Atlanta tries to finish off the NLCS
• Eddie Rosario’s 2 homers helps power Braves to big win and 3-1 series lead over Dodgers
• Braves’ Freddie Freeman says, ‘We’ve come this far. We can’t let anything deter us’
• The Braves hit the home-run trifecta and everything’s coming up Eddie Rosario — Jayson Stark’s Weird and Wild
• After 106 wins and $260 million, the Dodgers are on the brink of winter
• The Dodgers face elimination as their gamble backfires: ‘That’s not how you draw it up’
• Is there a such a thing as a ‘Dodgers Slider’?
• Guillermo Heredia and his swords have become an integral part of Braves’ season
• Dodger Details: On using starters in the postseason, offensive struggles and more

(Photo of Ozzie Albies: Wally Skalij / Los Angeles Times via Getty Images)

Stephen J. Nesbitt: This series is going back to Atlanta, and the Braves will have two more tries to drop the curtain on the Dodgers’ season. Game 5 wasn’t ruinous, but it was deeply troubling. With Atlanta ace Max Fried staked to a two-run lead before he took the mound and the Dodgers already two relievers into their bullpen day, the Braves appeared poised to do what they failed to do a year ago — close out the Dodgers in the NLCS. But it fell apart fast. In a span of three hitters in the second inning, AJ Pollock and Chris Taylor homered, taking a lead Los Angeles would not relinquish. Taylor homered two more times, etching his name into postseason record books. Pollock hammered a second homer, in the eighth inning, for good measure and unnecessary cushion. The Braves did no damage after Freddie Freeman’s first-inning blast. They will see Max Scherzer in Game 6, then Walker Buehler, if necessary, in Game 7. The Braves showed in Game 4 that they could bounce back from a gut punch. But this felt like a bigger blow.

Steve Berman: “I never look cool doing anything,” Chris Taylor said after hitting three home runs in Game 5. Over 50,000 fans at Dodger Stadium would disagree because there’s nothing cooler in baseball than fighting off elimination. Well, other than coming back from a 3-1 deficit to win a series. The Dodgers’ bullpen game plan looked flimsy in the first inning when Joe Kelly faltered, then left due to a biceps injury. But the overwhelming depth that the Dodgers bring not only kept them in the game but allowed them to rout the Braves in a game that sets the Dodgers up pretty well with their two best starters ready to go in Games 6 and 7.

Cody Stavenhagen: This feels like a resounding win for the Dodgers and immediately brings up echoes of last year’s 3-1 series comeback. The Dodgers have won seven consecutive elimination games, and now they have to win two more to get past the Braves. As for tonight, the Dodgers’ bats were booming, Chris Taylor joined a historic club and LA stays alive in the NLCS. They have Max Scherzer and Walker Buehler lined up for the next two games, so their horses are ready to run. Meanwhile, the Braves must regroup as they head home to Atlanta after a sleepy final eight innings in Los Angeles. The Braves franchise knows all too well what it feels like to be so close yet so far away. This weekend they will still have the chance to win their first NL pennant since 1999.

Kenley Jansen closed it out, because the Dodgers have an off-day tomorrow and why leave anything to chance? He had no problem retiring the Braves in order to complete a dominant win that sends the series back to Atlanta.

The Dodgers, who fell behind early, just put Game 5 out of reach. Mookie Betts manufactured a run after collecting his first hit and stealing second, then barely avoiding getting drilled by a Trea Turner single while attempting to steal third before hopping up and jogging home. AJ Pollock clubbed his second homer of the game, a three-run shot, to take away any remaining drama. Well, other than whether Chris Taylor would hit his fourth home run of the night (he struck out to end the inning).

Fabian Ardaya: Trea Turner with a three-hit game. Mookie Betts was stealing third (trying to set a new postseason career high), dove and had to get up and score as he dusted himself off.

Steve Berman: The combination of speed and contact with Mookie Betts and Trea Turner at the top of the order is unfair.

Cody Stavenhagen: Three homers for Chris Taylor. Three hits for Trae Turner. Mookie Betts doing Mookie Betts things. At least for tonight, the Dodgers are doing just fine minus Justin Turner.

David O'Brien: After Chris Martin gave up the fifth-inning homer that pushed the lead to 6-2, pretty apparent that Snitker made the decision to rest his key relievers. Rookie Dylan Lee went two innings and Jacob Webb has given up three hits and a run in this eighth inning and recorded one out. He's still in ... and oops, there goes a Pollack three-run homer. It's an 11-2 rout, and Webb is still in.

Stephen J. Nesbitt: And two homers for AJ Pollock. The Dodgers are not done. (Though they could be.)

Stavenhagen: Not only did AJ Pollock pimp that home run. He also gave no facial expression whatsoever as he took his time heading down the line. It was a cold reaction to a cold home run that put the Dodgers up by what feels like a million.

Steve Berman: The Dodgers bullpen has been magnificent, and that continued with Corey Knebel — who some thought might open tonight's game — looking dominant as the presumed setup man for Kenley Jansen. The Braves said all the right things about this year's series against the Dodgers being different after taking a 3-1 lead, but it would only be natural for doubts to start creeping in now.

Stephen J. Nesbitt: The Dodgers have used more pitchers (6) than the Braves have hits (5).

Chris Taylor’s agent might send video highlights and a box score from Game 5 of the NLCS to every team when he hits free agency. Taylor blasted his third home run of the game, his first homers since his game-winner in the wild-card game against St. Louis. The Dodgers needed an offensive outburst and they got it, mostly due to Taylor’s epic performance.

Steve Berman: Rough game since the first inning for the Braves, but Dylan Lee will never forget the time he struck out Albert Pujols in the NLCS. If this series extends to a Game 6 and/or 7, have to figure Lee will figure in somehow. He's been great. ... Then again, tonight is the Chris Taylor Game™, so Lee probably stood no chance. Good lord.

David O'Brien: Dylan Lee was handling himself well in his third MLB appearance and first postseason appearance, until Chris Taylor hit one to Malibu.

Fabian Ardaya: First Dodgers three-homer game in the postseason since Kiké Hernández in Game 5 of the 2017 NLCS.

Cody Stavenhagen: History. Taylor is the 11th player in MLB history to hit three home runs in a postseason game.

Stephen J. Nesbitt: Taylor homered once in September. He walked off the wild-card game, then hit three tonight. He will make piles of money in free agency.

The Dodgers' bullpen has been close to perfect since Joe Kelly left in the first inning due to injury. Blake Treinen became the second consecutive LA reliever to pitch two scoreless innings and he made it look easy against Austin Riley, Adam Duvall and Joc Pederson — three pretty dangerous hitters.

Stephen J. Nesbitt: As I was saying. Six pitches, three outs.

Fabian Ardaya: Corey Knebel is warming for the Dodgers. Would imagine it’s some combo of him and Kenley Jansen to try to finish this off.

David O'Brien: Braves have sent just three batters to the plate in five of the past six innings, four batters in the sixth. Two hits in that span, one runner erased when Rosario was thrown out stealing.

Dylan Lee gave the Braves a strong inning, highlighted by a wicked changeup to strike out Corey Seager. In the Dodgers’ favor, Mookie Betts is 0-for-4 and they hold a commanding lead heading into the seventh.

David O'Brien: Lefty Dylan Lee is pitching in Game 5 of the NLCS -- his postseason debut -- after not making his MLB debut until the final weekend of the regular season.

Fabian Ardaya: Trea Turner has reached base three times tonight, twice going the other way for singles. That’s a good sign for the Dodgers, considering how mightily Turner has struggled this postseason. Having him on the bases is a real weapon.

Stephen Nesbitt: The Braves need to get something brewing, stat. They had two hits in the first inning, and two in the next five innings. This is not how you attack a bullpen day, with Max Scherzer and Walker Buehler waiting in the wings for Games 6 and 7.

Blake Treinen allowed a double to Eddie Rosario (who’s hitting .600 in the NLCS) but got out of it when he got Ozzie Albies and Freddie Freeman to fly out to left.

Cody Stavenhagen: Wait. Graterol isn’t staying in the game despite batting. Dave Roberts trying to save his bench? Beats me.

Steve Berman: Brusdar Graterol hits for himself, then is relieved by Blake Treinen. Shows how thin the Dodgers bench is. Only Austin Barnes, Gavin Lux and Matt Beaty are available.

Stephen J. Nesbitt: If you're gonna make Graterol humiliate himself at-bat, let him flame a few more hitters afterward, man.

Berman: Getting Eddie Rosario for Pablo Sandoval and cash has to be a top-3 trade this season. It's one of those trades that makes you do a double-take when you scroll through Rosario's B-Ref page.

Stavenhagen: Wait, Sandoval and cash? Yep, I just did a double-take. A petty crime turned into grand theft with Rosario’s postseason.

Berman: My bad, the GUARDIANS sent cash along with Rosario!

Dave O'Brien: Rosario has a single and double in three ABs so far tonight, making him a ridiculous 12-for-20 with a double, triple, two homers and six RBIs in the first five games of the NLCS.

Max Fried allowed a leadoff walk to Will Smith that led to activity in the Braves’ bullpen, but he immediately erased that by getting AJ Pollock to ground into a double play. But Albert Pujols, who refuses to let this be his final game in the majors, walked to knock Fried out of the game. Then Chris Taylor hit his second home run of the game against reliever Chris Martin to break this game open.

Steve Berman: Leadoff walk to Will Smith. Braves are going to get the bullpen going, and they might end up looking back and wondering if they should've done it before the inning started.

Cody Stavenhagen: I wanted to say tip of the cap to Max Fried for getting through five after a brutal second inning and a walk to start to the fifth … but he issued another walk to Albert Pujols with two outs, and the Braves are finally turning to the bullpen.

Nesbitt: Fried is toast. He walks Albert Pujols with his 90th pitch, Brian Snitker emerges from the dugout, and the bullpen door swings open.

Nesbitt: Chris Taylor, casually ruining Atlanta’s champagne celebration plans for tonight. He greets reliever Chris Martin by whacking a (bad) 0-2 sinker into the center-field seats. That, for those counting, is his second big fly of the game.

Fabian Ardaya: Chris Taylor has been a catalyst for the Dodgers for years, but this year has been a perfect example. He was a first-time All-Star, then overcame a second-half slump to have so many key moments in October. He epitomizes what this franchise values in player evaluation and plugs so many holes for them.

Stavenhagen: Aaaand that walk to Pujols proves costly indeed. “This is Chris Taylor’s game,” the TBS broadcast said. That about sums it up.

Berman: That was a cold play by Chris Taylor to greet Chris Martin with a home run on an 0-2 count.

Fried: 4 2/3 IP, 8 H, 5 R, 2 BB, 3 K, 2 HR. 90 pitches/56 strikes. First time he allowed as many as four earned runs since July 23, and the most runs (earned or unearned) that he allowed six giving up six on July 5 at Pittsburgh, at which point he was 5-5 with a 4.66 ERA. His turnaround began soon after that.

Graterol keeps rolling. He struck out Joe “Joctober” Pederson on three pitches and got out of the inning on just eight pitches this time. In a bullpen game, anyone who can come in and get through two innings on just 14 pitches is invaluable. Dave Roberts might be tempted to let him pitch to at least another batter or three.

Stephen J. Nesbitt: The Braves have not enjoyed the Brusdar Graterol experience. After he pumped 100 mph past Joc Pederson, TBS’ Ron Darling referred to Graterol as “a linebacker with lightning in his arm.” The next pitch was an 84 mph slider. Pederson waved at it, weakly, and struck out, meekly.

Dave O'Brien: Graterol required just 14 pitches to retire six consecutive Braves in the fourth and fifth innings.

Nesbitt: A 1-2-3 inning. Graterol might as well just pitch until he tires. Atlanta has looked lifeless since jumping on Joe Kelly in the first inning.

Already facing the top of the order for the third time, Max Fried had his first 1-2-3 inning despite falling behind 3-0 against the always-aggressive Corey Seager.

Steve Berman: Every park has fans that do this, but it seems like the crowd at Dodger Stadium believes every fly ball is a homer. Fouled out of play, routine short fly to left, doesn't matter.

Brusdar Graterol might be the most electric pitcher of the postseason. The Braves were completely overmatched as Graterol retired the side with six pitches — four of which traveled faster than 100 mph.

Fabian Ardaya: Brusdar Graterol didn’t start throwing a cutter until the latter part of the year, and now it’s a critical part of his postseason success. Absolutely amazing how athletes can just pick stuff up like that and use it in the toughest moments. Throwing up to 103 mph certainly helps too.

David O'Brien: After that long third inning for Fried, he has to be back out there quickly after Dodgers' Brusdar Graterol retired the Braves on just 6 pitches (two groundouts to first base, Duvall K) in top of the fourth.

Max Fried struggled through another inning that could’ve been much worse. He allowed consecutive singles to AJ Pollock, Albert Pujols and Chris Taylor, a trio that’s been on everything Fried has thrown so far. But Fried limited the damage to one run, thanks to a great ranging play by Ozzie Albies on a grounder up the middle by Andy Burns, who was added to the roster before Game 5 as Justin Turner’s replacement.

David O'Brien: Fried is already at 62 pitches (40 strikes) through three innings

Stephen Nesbitt: The Dodgers’ 5-6-7 hitters — AJ Pollock, Albert Pujols and Chris Taylor — are making Max Fried miserable. They went homer, single, homer the first time through the order, and then three consecutive singles in their second at-bats.

Steve Berman: On MLB Network earlier today, Brian Kenny was questioning the decision to start Albert Pujols. His case made sense. Pujols got dumped by the Angels and is almost done. But he has two hits already and both led to runs. An only-in-baseball kind of occurrence.

Fabian Ardaya: If there’s one thing Albert Pujols can still do at this stage of his career, it’s hit left-handers. He’s done it all season, particularly as a Dodger. The numbers show it. It was a no-brainer for him to start tonight, and shouldn’t have been worth questioning. It’s certainly paid off.

Cody Stavenhagen: Albert Pujols has a cool 95 career postseason hits. Entered tonight as a career .321 postseason hitter

O'Brien: Two of the four homers off Fried in his last 11 regular-season starts came in a Sept. 1 game at Dodger Stadium (Max Muncy, Barnes). He allowed only 3 hits and 2 runs in six innings and got a no-decision in that 4-3 loss, the lone Braves defeat in his past 13 starts including two in the postseason before tonight.

Nesbitt: Fried isn’t cooked yet. He reared back to blow a 96.7 mph fastball — his hardest pitch of the game — to past Cody Bellinger for strike three, then got pinch-hitter Andy Burns to bounce out. Nice play by Ozzie Albies, ranging up the middle, and a great scoop by Freddie Freeman to end the inning.

O'Brien: Nice play on both ends by Albies (play up middle, off-balance throw) and Freeman (on one-hop scoop) to end a tough inning for Fried.

Alex Vesia came in too early for Brian Snitker to use Jorge Soler as a pinch hitter. Other than a slow roller by the red-hot Eddie Rosario that found a hole for a single, who ended the inning when he got caught attempting to steal second, Vesia was excellent against some strong Braves hitters (and Max Fried, one of the best hitting pitchers in the league).

Cody Stavenhagen: Wow. That’s the first caught stealing for any NL team this postseason. And it’s so fascinating how teams have generally turned the stolen base into a science.

Steve Berman: As much grief as the Dodgers get for their payroll and having to go with bullpen games when the stakes are highest, they're an underrated scrappy bunch. Many teams would've folded after the first inning, especially after losing a leader like Justin Turner the night before.

Fabian Ardaya: The Dodgers have had issues keeping runners on all season, but that was great execution of a pitch from Alex Vesia, who quickened his time to the plate, and a great throw from Will Smith. Corey Seager has whiffed on some tags this year, but nailed it there to get Rosario.

The Dodgers jumped all over Max Fried with four straight hits and took a 3-2 lead on a leadoff homer by AJ Pollock and a two-run blast from Chris Taylor. Fried was lucky to get out of the inning with a one-run deficit — especially after he drilled Trea Turner to put runners on first and second — but he got out of it by coaxing a weak grounder from Corey Seager to Freddie Freeman.

Stephen J. Nesbitt: AJ Pollock came out firing. Fouled off Max Fried’s first offering, then found a four-seamer over the plate and delivered it to the fans in the left-center field to halve the lead.

Cody Stavenhagen: AJ Pollock is one of the best fastball hitters in the league. Fifteen of his 21 homers this year came off the four-seam fastball. Max Fried left that one just a bit too far over the plate.

Fabian Ardaya: The Dodgers offense got hot there, or at least the exit velocities did. Three straight balls squared up off Max Fried (AJ Pollock homer, Albert Pujols single, Chris Taylor homer) and it’s a 3-2 lead.

Nesbitt: Oh my. A nightmare sequence for Max Fried. After Pollock jumped a heater, Albert Pujols outlasted Fried a dumped a single into left, then Chris Taylor destroyed a first-pitch fastball into the bullpen beyond the left-field wall.

Steve Berman: And after Albert Pujols lines one to left for a single, Chris Taylor hits a first-pitch fastball out to left. 112 mph exit velocity, too. That escalated quickly.

Stavenhangen: So this isn’t what Max Fried had in mind. After an Albert Pujols single, a Chris Taylor blast to left field puts the Dodgers up 3-2. More starting pitching woes in what continues to be an odd postseason. Looked like two fastballs that Fried simply left over the plate.

David O'Brien: Fried, who gave up a solo homer to Will Smith in Game 1 of the NLCS, allowed just one homer in 35 innings over his last five regular-season starts, then limited the Brewers to three hits in seven scoreless innings of his first postseason start. Now the Dodgers are dinging him with long balls, and they are no-doubters.

Ardaya: The Dodgers have strung as many hits together to lead off the second inning against Max Fried as they had all game in Game 4.

O'Brien: Four consecutive hits including two homers to start the second inning against Fried, who gave up eight hits but only two runs in six innings of his Game 1 start in this series. Dodgers had only four hits in a Braves bullpen game in Game 4.

Nesbitt: Max Fried is shook. With two outs, Cody Bellinger bluffed stealing second base. Chase d’Arnaud tried to stop Fried’s delivery, but instead Fried basically threw home while watching first base. He ended up drilling Trea Turner up and in (he’s OK) to continue the inning.

Ardaya: Cody Bellinger looked dead in the water off first, but Fried kept going to the plate and hit Trea Turner on the shoulder. Trainer came out to check on Turner, but he’s staying in. Weird play. Fried looks off.

Stavenhagen: Rarely do you see an MLB pitcher so thrown off by the movement of a baserunner. Fried was right to continue his delivery home. But hitting the batter made a strange sequence even more strange.

O'Brien: Fried gave up just four homers and hit one batter while going 7-0 with a 1.46 ERA in 74 innings over his final 11 regular-season games. He's allowed two homers and hit a batter through two innings tonight, and it was a strange HBP after being distracted by the base runner (Fried has one of two or three best pickoff moves in baseball.).

Evan Phillips comes through with a perfect second inning, which the Dodgers desperately needed. He got Joe Pederson to fly out to center before striking out Dansby Swanson and Travis d’Arnaud.

Steve Berman: Dave Roberts has to be wondering if he chose the correct opener. Phillips looks outstanding.

Cody Stavenhagen: Evan Phillips in the second inning: 11 sliders, seven swings, four whiffs. It’s a nasty pitch that opponents had only four hits off of this season.

Fabian Ardaya: The Dodgers got Evan Phillips off waivers and he’s done nothing but throw the ball well in a limited sample. This is also a bullpen that has gotten surprisingly huge contributions from guys like Alex Vesia, Phil Bickford and Justin Bruihl this year. This is a pretty deep bullpen.

Steve Berman: Other than Trea Turner getting a shift-beating single of his own, Max Fried carved through the Dodgers with relative ease. Fried's best pitch: a 96 mph fastball that froze Seager for a called third strike.

Stephen J. Nesbitt: Max Fried, free and easy in the first inning. The sinker had life, well located below the zone. The slider had bite. The Dodgers will be fighting from behind against a heck of a pitcher tonight.