‘Just a bad read on my part’ — Chris Taylor’s baserunning blunder added to Dodgers’ downfall in NLCS opener

Cody Bellinger produced a hit against an opposing left-handed pitcher only 12% of the time this season. But in the ninth inning on Saturday night, against the closer for a team that won its division, Bellinger came up with the line-drive single that would place the go-ahead run in scoring position. It seemed as if the Los Angeles Dodgers were meant to finally break through, as they had in two prior ninth innings already this postseason.

But then Chris Taylor got indecisive.

“I tried to stop,” he said. “I should’ve kept going.”

Taylor interrupted his sprint just before reaching the halfway point between second and third base and was tagged out after a brief rundown, ending the half-inning and thwarting one of few chances the Dodgers had to tack on runs in Game 1 of the National League Championship Series. Austin Riley delivered the walk-off hit off Blake Treinen the next half-inning, sending the Braves into a 3-2 victory from an exhilarated Truist Park.

A wild end to the top of the 9th! 😱 pic.twitter.com/24ZLeIsoLp

— MLB (@MLB) October 17, 2021

AUSTIN RILEY 3:16 SAYS THIS GAME IS OVER!@austinriley1308 | #BattleATL pic.twitter.com/TdE1FJLK8t

— Atlanta Braves (@Braves) October 17, 2021

Moments before scoring the winning run — set up by a shallow flare and a steal of second — Atlanta Braves second baseman Ozzie Albies was shaded towards shallow right field and came just shy of making a leaping catch on Bellinger’s liner.

“To be honest with you, I thought he was going to be at third already once I jumped and the ball went over my head,” Albies said. “When I turned around and I saw him halfway and he stopped, I said, ‘OK, we got him.'”

Braves right fielder Joc Pederson charged in hard and short-hopped a throw into shortstop Dansby Swanson, who immediately looked to first wondering if Bellinger had crept too far off first base. When he turned, he saw Taylor caught in the middle. Swanson threw to Riley, then got the baseball back and quickly applied the tag.