Dodgers finish off Braves in four games, advance to NLCS - MLB

The Dodgers have punched their ticket to the NLCS.

Thanks to some late-inning heroics from Juan Uribe, the Dodgers defeated the Braves 4-3 tonight at Dodger Stadium to finish off the NLDS in four games. This will be the franchise’s 10th trip to the NLCS and their first since 2009.

The Dodgers jumped out to an early 2-0 lead behind a pair of solo homers from Carl Crawford, but the Braves found their way back into the game behind a pair of defensive miscues in the top of the fourth inning. Clayton Kershaw did fine on short rest, allowing two unearned runs over six innings, but Freddy Garcia matched him for the most part. Atlanta would eventually take the lead in the top of the seventh inning via an RBI single from Jose Constanza, but the Dodgers pulled ahead for good when Uribe took David Carpenter deep for a dramatic two-run homer in the bottom of the eighth inning. The go-ahead homer was set up on a double by Yasiel Puig. Kenley Jansen struck out the side in the ninth inning to lock down the victory.

While the Dodgers have advanced, they’ll won’t know their opponent until the Pirates and Cardinals square off in Game 5 of their series on Wednesday. The NLCS is set to begin on Friday and Zack Greinke should be lined up for the assignment.

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CINCINNATI — The Los Angeles Dodgers placed pitcher Noah Syndergaard on the 15-day injured list Thursday with a blister on the index finger of his right throwing hand.

Dodgers manager Dave Roberts said the timetable for Syndergaard’s return is unknown despite the 15-day designation.

“The physical, the mental, the emotional part, as he’s talked about, has taken a toll on him,” Roberts said. “So, the ability to get him away from this. He left today to go back to Los Angeles to kind of get back to normalcy.”

Syndergaard allowed six runs and seven hits in three innings against the Cincinnati Reds on Tuesday night, raising his ERA to 7.16.

Syndergaard (1-4) has surrendered at least five runs in three straight starts.

Syndergaard has been trying to return to the player he was before Tommy John surgery sidelined him for the better part of the 2020 and 2021 seasons.

Roberts said Syndergaard will need at least “a few weeks” to both heal and get away from baseball and “reset.”

“I think searching and not being comfortable with where he was at in the moment is certainly evident in performance,” Roberts said. “So hopefully this time away will provide more clarity on who he is right now as a pitcher.

“Trying to perform when you’re searching at this level is extremely difficult. I applaud him from not running from it, but it’s still very difficult. Hopefully it can be a tale of two stories, two halves when he does come back.”