OVER AND OUT

Mismanagement of pitching by the front office is ultimately what doomed club Scherzer can’t pitch, Buehler can’t last and L.A. can’t come back to keep season alive

ATLANTA — This was the management equivalent of Bill Buckner’s blunder at first base, of Willie Davis’ three errors in center field, or Steve Bartman’s gaffe down the left-field line. Actually, this was worse. Buckner’s, Davis’ and Bartman’s teams had a chance to recover from their respective mistakes. Now that the National League Championship Series is over, it’s evident the Dodgers were finished once Andrew Friedman and the geniuses in the front office decided the postseason was the right time to experiment.

The $260-million Dodgers were officially eliminated on Saturday night in a 4-2 defeat to the Atlanta Braves, who won the best-ofseven matchup by an identical margin and earned the right to get destroyed by the Houston Astros in the World Series.

Starter Walker Buehler was pitching on three-days’ rest and looked like it, giving up four runs, seven hits and three walks in four innings.

Buehler pitched because Max Scherzer couldn’t — the remnants of a decision made in the previous round.

Hall of Fame pitcher and TBS broadcaster Pedro Martinez, who knows a thing or two about mistakes made by the Dodgers, posted on his Twitter account, “@Dodgers analytics dept really messed up prob

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ATLANTA — The Dodgers’ season effectively ended in the seventh inning Saturday night at Truist Park. It happened with runners at second and third, stranded there after Atlanta Braves left-hander Tyler Matzek mowed through three hitters.

It happened in fitting fashion, with the Dodgers unable to capitalize on a prime scoring opportunity in Game 6 of the National League Championship Series.

When the sequence was over, after Albert Pujols, Steven Souza Jr. and Mookie Betts struck out in succession, Matzek pumped his fist twice. He leaped and he howled. The Dodgers had six outs left to erase a two-run deficit, but their World Series hopes were effectively extinguished there, without putting a ball in play, en route to a seasonending, 4-2 defeat.

The result will be remembered as a stunning conclusion. The Dodgers won 106 games during the regular season, matching the franchise record and 18 more than the Braves. Their payroll was $100 million more expensive than Atlanta’s operation. They were the clear favorites to claim back-toback championships for the first time in franchise history after surviving the division series against the San Francisco Giants, the only team in the majors with more wins during the regular season.

They entered Saturday on a seven-game win streak in elimination games, a run they started when they rallied from a 3-1 hole in

Wally Skalij Los Angeles Times AJ POLLOCK tosses his helmet after grounding out as the Braves celebrate defeating the Dodgers in six games to clinch their first trip to the World Series since 1999.

Robert Gauthier Los Angeles Times WALKER BUEHLER gives up a go-ahead, three-run homer to Atlanta’s Eddie Rosario in the fourth. Rosario had three homers and nine RBIs as the series MVP.