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In 2019, the Atlanta Braves were eliminated after Mike Foltynewicz and friends gave up 10 runs in the first inning of Game 5 of the NLDS. Last night, Kyle Wright and co. outdid them. The Dodgers put up a postseason record 11 runs before the Braves got to take their first swings.
Sarah Langs pointed out that the Braves are the first team in postseason history to allow multiple 10+ run innings and they are the only team to give up 10 runs or more in the first inning in the playoffs.
The Braves allowed 10 runs in the 1st inning in NLDS Game 5 last year & now 11 in the 1st tonight
— Sarah Langs (@SlangsOnSports) October 14, 2020
They're the 1st team to allow multiple 10-run innings in postseason history
BOTH have been 1st innings, the ONLY team to allow 10+ in a postseason 1st inning
(h/t @EliasSports)
Globe Life Field has looked extremely pitcher-friendly this postseason, but the Dodgers managed to hit three homers in the first inning plus a fourth in the second. Yesterday, Devan Fink argued that we were overreacting to small sample and that the long outs could simply be a product of better defensive positioning.
The 11-run first inning didn’t doom the Braves’ season this time, but if you believe in momentum, it swung it in favor of Los Angeles who had been struggling to get their bats going in the first 15 innings of this series. They’ll still need to take three out of the next four to go on, but if there’s any team that can do that, it’s the Dodgers.
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