ATLANTA—When the Los Angeles Dodgers dealt for Manny Machado back in July, they couldn’t have expected a moment like Monday would happen. But they could have predicted it.
Machado, the All-Star shortstop who’d been relatively quiet in the National League Division Series, broke out huge in Game 4, doubling to drive in the Dodgers’ first run and hammering a long seventh-inning home run that iced a 6-2 victory and sent a feisty but still young Braves team to an early playoff exit. Los Angeles now moves on to face Milwaukee in the NLCS, and the Dodgers will bring the terrifying combination of a fully rested bullpen and fully operational offense to the party.