LOS ANGELES — The Braves have shown their resilience time and again throughout the 2021 season. They provided another reminder of their mental fortitude Wednesday in Southern California, and they’re one win from a World Series berth as a result.

After a devastating defeat Tuesday, the Braves bounced back in Game 4 of the National League Championship Series and beat the Dodgers 9-2. The Braves lead the best-of-seven NLCS 3-1.

This series has unfolded in the same fashion as the 2020 NLCS: The Braves won the first two, suffered a brutal loss in Game 3 but rebounded to win Game 4. The Braves will try to end the similarities there and prevent a repeat of last year, when the Dodgers won three consecutive to advance.

The Braves pitched a bullpen game to perfection Wednesday. Their offense did more than enough to supplement their arms, led by the Braves’ own version of Mr. October in outfielder Eddie Rosario.

Ed's got the sauce. pic.twitter.com/QX5SusVnwn

— MLB (@MLB) October 21, 2021

Rosario was the least heralded of the Braves’ trade-deadline acquisitions. He was sidelined by an abdominal injury, and the team acquired him for a declining Pablo Sandoval. Now, with the NL pennant on the line, Rosario has been the Braves’ best player.

He went 4-for-5, falling a double shy of his second cycle this season. In the NLCS, Rosario is 10-for-17 with a triple, two homers, two walks, six RBIs and four runs scored. In a series featuring two teams who’ve met in back-to-back league championship series, including the defending champs with MLB’s highest payroll, Rosario has been far and away the biggest standout.

The Braves’ bullpen game was a resounding success. Jesse Chavez, who opened the game after Huascar Ynoa was removed from the roster because of shoulder inflammation, pitched a perfect first. Lefty Drew Smyly followed by retiring the first seven Dodgers en route to three scoreless frames.

It was the best moment of the season for Smyly, the team’s $11 million free-agent signing who was jettisoned from the rotation in September following his struggles. Smyly’s last start, coincidently, was at Dodger Stadium when he surrendered four homers.

Smyly’s outing ended one out into the fifth after he allowed consecutive singles from Justin Turner and Cody Bellinger. Veteran Chris Martin retired Chris Taylor before giving up a two-RBI single to pinch-hitter AJ Pollock, trimming the Braves’ advantage to 5-2.

Lefty A.J. Minter pitched a perfect sixth against the heart of the Dodgers’ lineup. He stayed for the seventh, surrendering a single to Albert Pujols. But Minter coaxed Turner into a double play — Turner suffered a leg injury running to first and left the game — then got Bellinger to fly out to center to end the inning.

Tyler Matzek and Will Smith pitched the final two innings, respectively, to close it for the Braves. The bullpen game resulted in just a four-hit showing for the Dodgers. The top four hitters in the Dodgers lineup were a combined 0-for-15.

The Braves took their lead in the second inning when Rosario, who was moved down to fifth in the lineup, hammered an 0-2 pitch from Julio Urias over the left-field wall. Center fielder Adam Duvall followed with his own blast, quickly making the score 2-0.

It was the first time the Braves have hit back-to-back home runs in the postseason since Oct. 3, 2002, in Game 2 of the NL Division Series against the Giants, when Javy Lopez and Vinny Castilla launched consecutive homers also in the second inning.

In the bottom of the frame, Duvall made a leaping grab at the center-field wall to rob Gavin Lux of an extra-base hit. It was that kind of night for the Braves, who disappointed the 53,025 on hand.

To the window, to Duvall!@aduvall123 | #BattleATL pic.twitter.com/8cHvTy6tec

— Atlanta Braves (@Braves) October 21, 2021

First baseman Freddie Freeman’s 0-for-8 start to the series is long forgotten. After collecting three hits Tuesday, he blasted a towering solo homer off Urias in the third inning. Rosario’s two-out triple allowed outfielder Joc Pederson to single home the Braves’ fourth run.

Pederson’s hit dropped in front of Lux in center. A natural infielder, Lux played the ball on a hop in front of him, frustrating Urias, who seemed to think Lux could’ve made the catch. It was Pederson’s fourth RBI in the series and the third consecutive game in which he’s produced a run. He has a hit in every game against his former club.

The Braves added their fifth run in the fifth after Rosario — who else? — singled and later scored on Duvall’s sacrifice fly to Lux, who delivered a weak throw to the cutoff man. Freeman produced their sixth with an RBI double in the eighth. Rosario capped the night with a three-run blast off Tony Gonsolin.

Only 14 of the 89 teams to fall into a 3-1 hole in a best-of-seven series have rallied to advance. Just four times has that team overcome holes of 2-0 and 3-1 in the same series. Unfortunately for the Braves, the 2020 Dodgers achieved the feat, overcoming a 3-1 deficit in last year’s NLCS. These Braves can avenge that group with one more win — and they have Max Fried, Ian Anderson and Charlie Morton lined up if the series goes the distance.

The Braves will try to prevent that, though. They could finish the series Thursday with a victory in Los Angeles. If the Dodgers win Game 5, the Braves would host Game 6 and a potential Game 7 at Truist Park this weekend.

With LA fans going home… Braves fans doing the Chop chant here at Dodger Stadium pic.twitter.com/8WaOS8IeH2

— Zach Klein (@ZachKleinWSB) October 21, 2021

Left-hander Max Fried, a Santa Monica native who grew up consuming baseball at Dodger Stadium, will try to live out his childhood dreams and help his team secure a World Series spot at Chavez Ravine. The Dodgers haven’t announced their starter.

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