Anderson posts zeros again for Braves

It might not have been pretty, but it was effective. In the postseason, the latter is all that counts.

Baseball’s No. 34 overall prospect Ian Anderson continued his team's dominant trend on the mound with four scoreless innings as Atlanta seized a 2-0 lead in the best-of-7 National League Championship Series with an 8-7 win over the Dodgers on Tuesday night in Arlington, Texas.

"It was a battle out there, that's for sure," Anderson said after the win. "I think I made a bunch of quality pitches, and they put together some phenomenal at-bats. Thankfully, like I've been saying all along, I had Travis [d'Arnaud] back there and everyone working right along with me in the dugout. That goes a long way to helping you get out of those tight spots and tight jams. Trying to keep zeros up on the scoreboard is the biggest thing at the end of the day."

The law of averages says #Braves No. 3 prospect Ian Anderson will eventually give up a postseason run.

Ian Anderson to the law of averages through three starts:

0⃣0⃣0⃣pic.twitter.com/RpPVMEEsFB

— Minor League Baseball (@MiLB) October 14, 2020

The right-hander had to battle in his shortest outing of the playoffs, but he also did something he’s been doing all October long -- not allow runs. Anderson yielded just one hit and worked around a season-high five walks with five strikeouts and a wild pitch. He became the first pitcher in franchise history to turn in three straight scoreless starts in the playoffs. Atlanta's No. 3 prospect became just the second pitcher in history to begin his postseason career with three scoreless starts, joining Hall of Famer Christy Mathewson.

"This one was kind of one you can almost take a little bit more pride in," Anderson said. "That's a good lineup, and really having to battle through that and pull out a huge team win all around is one that I'll probably look back on, however this ends up going. I think I'll be able to point at this one and say that was the one I was most proud of up to this point."

The second inning wound up being Anderson’s only clean frame. After walking a pair in the first, the 22-year-old faced trouble in the third. Anderson walked Mookie Betts with one out and allowed a two-out single to center by Justin Turner before he walked Max Muncy to load the bases. Three pitches later, Anderson got out of the jam by forcing Will Smith to bounce into a force play at third base to end the inning.

A two-out walk to Joc Pederson in the fourth was the last baserunner allowed by Anderson, coming between strikeouts of AJ Pollock and Chris Taylor to end the righty’s night. Anderson had not walked five in a game since last Aug. 30 with Triple-A Gwinnett at Durham. He finished Game 2 with 85 pitches, 48 for strikes.

"He was just really working," Braves manager Brian Snitker said. "There was traffic. He did a great job of never giving in. He kept pitching. He was off, as evidenced by the walks and the pitch count. He wasn't real sharp. It's going to happen, but to his credit, he kept things manageable, didn't let an inning get out of hand. What a great trait for a young pitcher."

On the offensive side, baseball’s No. 10 overall prospect Cristian Pache got the start in center field for Atlanta. The 21-year-old became the youngest player to get such a nod in a League Championship Series or World Series game since Andruw Jones did so, also at age 21, for the Braves in 1998. Pache, Atlanta’s top prospect, laced a run-scoring double down the left-field line in the fifth for his first postseason hit and RBI. It was his only hit in five at-bats.

In other action:

Rays 5, Astros 2

Randy Arozarena stayed hot in Game 3 of the American League Championship Series, going 3-for-4 with a walk and a run scored as Tampa Bay moved within a win of punching its ticket into the World Series. After flying out in the first inning, the No. 19 Rays prospect doubled to left in the third and lined a single to left and scored on a single by Joey Wendle in the sixth. When the lineup turned over, Arozarena was intentionally walked later in the frame and he also singled to right in the ninth. Box score