LOS ANGELES - Reliever Jesse Chavez will be the Braves’ starting pitcher in a bullpen game for Game 4 of the National League Championship Series against the Dodgers.
Right-hander Huascar Ynoa was scheduled to start, but was scratched because of shoulder inflammation. Ynoa was replaced with lefty Dylan Lee on the NLCS roster.
Chavez pitched in Game 2 and Game 3 against the Dodgers. He surrendered the go-ahead RBI double to Mookie Betts in the eighth inning of Game 3. Ynoa pitched in one game this postseason, surrendering two runs against the Brewers. Lefty Drew Smyly is expected to follow Chavez in Game 4.
The Braves lost Game 3 in painful fashion Tuesday, surrendering four runs in the eighth inning of a 6-5 defeat. But those wounds would quickly heal with a victory Wednesday, which would give the Braves a 3-1 advantage in the series.
Braves notes:
- The Braves’ July acquisitions continue to impress. Three of them combined for five hits in Game 3. Outfielders Joc Pederson and Adam Duvall each had two – Duvall also collected his first two RBIs of the postseason – while Game 2 hero Eddie Rosario had a leadoff single. Rosario was bumped to fifth in the lineup for Game 4, with shortstop Dansby Swanson moved back into leadoff against Dodgers lefty Julio Urias.
- Lefty Tyler Matzek, who turned 31 on Tuesday, pitched a perfect inning in Game 3. He has 12 scoreless outings of at least one inning in his first 14 postseason appearances. Only Mark Wohlers (24) has more such postseason appearances in Braves history.
- The Braves are trying to avoid unwanted history: Only 14 teams have blown a 2-0 lead in a best-of-seven series, including the 2020 Braves against the Dodgers in the NLCS. The Braves are also trying to avoid becoming the only team to lose four 2-0 leads in such series. The Dodgers and Yankees also have blown three 2-0 series leads.
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