LOS ANGELES – There were so many ways this game could have gone wrong – the first inning, the third, the sixth, maybe even the ninth, when the outcome seemed well in hand.
If it appeared the Dodgers were ready to cave in, to let the National League Division Series slip away, they somehow found a way to salvage it Sunday night. Now, after a raucous evening at Dodger Stadium, they're one win a way from advancing.
You could count the ways they nearly lost to the Atlanta Braves – Hyun-Jin Ryu's failed start, misplays in the field, a two-run lead given up – but they still forged to a 13-6 victory that gives them a 2-1 lead in the best-of-five series.
Consider that in the previous 15 division playoffs that were tied 1-1, the team that won Game 3 went on to win the series 14 times, there's reason for the Dodgers to feel a sense of confidence.
"We're in stage one right now," reliever J.P. Howell said. "As the time goes, you can feel it, you can sense it, where we're heading. (Monday) will be a nice little test for us to see if we can finish."
The Dodgers' eruption of runs was epic. They came back from a 2-0 deficit in the first inning, then rallied again after the Braves scored two in the third off Ryu. The 13 runs tied a franchise mark for runs in a postseason game last accomplished by the Brooklyn Dodgers in the 1956 World Series.
"It's a tough lineup to go through," second baseman Mark Ellis said. "I'm never surprised by our offense."
Nor by the bullpen. After Ryu stumbled through three shaky innings, giving up four runs and failing to find a rhythm, manager Don Mattingly called on Chris Capuano, Howell, Ronald Belisario, Paco Rodriguez and Kenley Jansen to hold down the potent Braves.
Capuano, Howell and Belisario held Atlanta scoreless over five innings before Jason Heyward's two-run homer off Rodriguez scored two in the ninth. Mattingly brought in Jansen, his closer, to get the final out.
It wasn't easy. Capuano, whose difficulties as a starter relegated him to the bullpen, worked three scoreless innings, but not before walking the leadoff batter each time.
"That was as nervous as I've been since I first stepped on a big-league mound over 10 years ago," Capuano said. "My heart was pounding the whole time. I just had to make sure I kept breathing out there. I had three leadoff walks, but fortunately I was able to pitch around them."
His emotional load was made lighter by an offense that exploded for 10 runs from the second inning through the fourth. Hanley Ramirez, who has been the catalyst, had a single, double, triple and two RBI. Yasiel Puig had three hits, scored three runs and drove in two. Carl Crawford's second-inning homer put the Dodgers in front 4-2.
Crawford had three RBI and the defensive play of the night, chasing down a pop foul off the bat of Brian McCann in the eighth and tumbling over a short wall in left field to make the catch.
The Dodgers had a six-run lead at the time, but Crawford still put himself at risk, figuring an out is an out.
"I honestly didn't think the ball was going to the stands," he said. "It kept floating, it seemed like. I didn't see the wall coming. Next thing you know, I felt my feet coming from up under me, and I felt myself flipping over. The good thing is, I held on to the ball, so that's all that matters."
Ryu's performance was the only downer, and although the Dodgers insist his left arm is fine, it was curious to see him struggle so mightily.
He gave up two runs in the first inning, pitched a routine second, then yielded two more in the third. There had been rumors that something was wrong with his arm, and he did nothing to dispel them with his effort.
Even so, he said through a translator, "There was absolutely no injury whatsoever. Of course, there was anxiety, and I was a little bit nervous taking the mound. But I think in the earlier part of the game, when I had the count going my way, I should have honed in and focused a little more. I think that's the mistake I made."
His defense was also a problem. In the third, he missed touching first base with his foot on what should have been a double play, and one batter later, he threw home on Chris Johnson's grounder, apparently thinking it was a force play. His throw was late.
"Both were completely my fault," he said. "Me covering first base, I just rushed and missed the bag. The next play, throwing home, (was) just a thoughtless mistake there. I'm going to make sure those things don't happen again."
Right now, all that matters is finishing off the series and awaiting the winner of the Pittsburgh Pirates-St. Louis Cardinals. But they can't think about that until they win once more.
Their chance comes tonight.
