Marcell Ozuna’s baserunning blunder in Game 5 cost his Atlanta Braves badly. Kevin Jairaj-USA TODAY Sports

Marcell Ozuna costs Braves with baserunning error in Game 5

Originally posted on Larry Brown Sports | By Larry Brown | Last updated 10/17/20

Marcell Ozuna’s baserunning blunder in Game 5 of the NLCS at Globe Life Park in Arlington, Texas, on Friday night cost his Atlanta Braves badly.

The Braves were leading the Los Angeles Dodgers 2-0 in the bottom of the third. Ozuna singled to lead off the inning against Joe Kelly. Travis d’Arnaud followed with a single, and the two moved to second and third after a groundout by Ozzie Albies.

Then with one out, Dansby Swanson hit a ball to right field. Ozuna went to tag up after Mookie Betts made the catch and was able to beat the throw home for a run to put the Braves up 3-0. But there was one problem.

The Dodgers challenged and said that Ozuna left third base early. They turned out to be right.

Ozuna was found to have left early and ruled out, which wiped the run off the board. That was a huge play.

The Braves would have been up 3-0 if the Dodgers didn’t challenge. Instead, it was 2-0 after the play was overturned. And then Corey Seager hit a home run the next inning to make it 2-1. Couple that with Will Smith’s home run off Will Smith, and those are the big plays in the game.

The Dodgers won Game 5 7-3 to make it a 3-2 series. The Braves need one more win to take the series, while the Dodgers have to win two in a row.

This article first appeared on Larry Brown Sports and was syndicated with permission.

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