Seager crushes 2-run HR in 1st ... AGAIN

LOS ANGELES -- No player has won League Championship Series MVP Awards in consecutive seasons. If the Dodgers find a way to climb back from their NLCS deficit against the Braves this week, Corey Seager might just become the first.

Seager clearly is doing his part to boost those comeback efforts. For the second straight game, the Dodgers’ shortstop launched a no-doubt two-run homer in the first inning to give Los Angeles a two-run lead. The Dodgers fell behind a few innings later, but they rallied to win Game 3, 6-5, on the strength of Cody Bellinger’s game-tying three-run blast and Mookie Betts’ go-ahead double in the eighth.

The win trimmed the Dodgers' deficit to 2-1 in the best-of-seven series.

It was Seager who opened the scoring. He got a hanging curveball from Braves starter Charlie Morton and sent it a projected 444 feet, per Statcast, onto the netting in front of the center-field batter’s eye -- the longest postseason home run of his career.

Seager equaled teammate Justin Turner with 13 career postseason homers, the most in Dodgers history. Seager’s blast also marked the fifth time he homered in the first inning in the postseason, tied for the third-highest total in American League/National League history, trailing only Jose Altuve (seven) and teammate Albert Pujols (six). Seager’s 36 postseason RBIs rank second in franchise history, behind Turner, who has 42.

For the second consecutive game, Betts reached base to open the game. Dodgers manager Dave Roberts noted that the threat of a stolen base loomed large on Seager’s home run.

“If we get somebody on base in front of Corey that can steal a base, you saw Charlie try to quicken up with his delivery and slide-step, and he left a breaking ball up,” Roberts said. “That was a by-product of Mookie being on first base. [Morton] hung a breaker, and [Seager] hit it out.”

Seager, who won NLCS and World Series MVP honors last season, has picked up right where he left off: raking in October.

“If you can get guys on base, baserunners, for a guy like Corey -- he doesn't need much help,” Roberts said. “But if you make a mistake, he'll make you pay, and it was big.”