It's kind of unfair to play 162 games, prove that you're 20 games better than the 2nd place team but then have to play them in a short 5-game series to see who gets to advance in the playoffs. And now that the Mets find themselves behind 2-0 in that best-of-5, they're likely to get a taste of just how unfair it is. Mike Foltynewicz was dominant tonight (7.2 6 1 1 0 5) and Freddie Freeman had a solo HR and RBI single to give the Braves all the offense they would need. Mookie Betts added a 2-run HR off Corey Knebel in the 9th to give Atlanta some breathing room, and breathing room is what they have in this series as the Mets must win 3 straight to advance.
A wild back-and-forth game that St. Louis that they had won twice only for the Dodgers to rally in the bottom of the 10th to even the series. This game had a little bit of everything, including a 2-run HR by St. Louis pitcher Jack Flaherty to give them an early 3-0 lead. But the Dodgers chipped away with a Cory Bellinger HR and then Jorge Soler tied it in the 7th with a blast of his own. St. Louis went ahead in the top of 10th on an RBI double by pinch-hitter Andrew Knizner, but Kodi Whitley couldn't hold the lead in the bottom of the inning and Bellinger had the game-winning single as the teams go back to St. Louis even.