LOS ANGELES – The Atlanta Braves punched their ticket to their first World Series in over two decades Saturday, toppling the defending champion Los Angeles Dodgers 4-2 to wrap up the National League Championship Series in six games.
The Braves, who will face the Houston Astros in Major League Baseball’s Fall Classic, rolled over the Dodgers by jumping on their starting pitcher Walker Buehler in the first inning.
The win ended a string of heartbreaking potential elimination losses for the Braves who had four previous chances in the last two years to book a trip to the World Series but failed.
Atlanta advanced to their sixth World Series all-time and their first since 1999.
“It is amazing. This organization has been around a long time and it has been a long time since we got to the World Series,” said first baseman Freddie Freeman.
“We took it to another level with what we did in the second half (regular season) and postseason.”
The World Series starts Tuesday in Houston, which will host the first two games before they switch to Atlanta.
The turning point Saturday was a three-run fourth inning that featured a 361-foot home run to right field by slugger Eddie Rosario.