Atlanta Braves at Los Angeles Dodgers

While explaining why he opted to give a fatigued Chris Sale a couple extra days of rest, Braves manager Walt Weiss said, “We know our club very well.”  When the Braves silenced their doubters a few hours later with a 3-2 win over the Dodgers on Sunday night in Game 2 of the NL Division Series, there was no reason to question the Sale decision or any of the many pitching decisions Weiss had to make to gain this tide-turning victory that evened the best-of-five series. Ray Kerr proved masterful as an opener yet again and Didier Fuentes further highlighted a pitching performance that included the use of six different pitchers. As for Michael Harris II, he made sure their efforts didn’t go to waste. Harris tripled and scored on a wild pitch in the fifth and he plated Matt Olson with a double in the seventh.   Harris’ key two-out hits helped the Braves claim a victory that many thought was unlikely when they pushed Sale’s start to Game 3 and instead went with an opener for a third straight game. The series now shifts to Atlanta for Games 3 and 4 on Tuesday and Wednesday. Weiss’ stress level elevated as he had to lean heavily on his relievers. But his successful navigation toward 27 outs should have created incredible satisfaction.  Some might have counted the Braves out after their Game 1 loss. But now they are tied and heading home knowing Sale and Tyler Mahle are starting the next two games.