ATLANTA -- The Dodgers, tied in the ninth inning for the second time in as many games, were building themselves another rally on Saturday night. Cody Bellinger¡¯s two-out single sent Chris Taylor to second base. Mookie Betts was due up, with two men aboard. The Dodgers were in business.

And then, suddenly, they weren¡¯t. Taylor found himself in no-man¡¯s land, having strayed too far past the second-base bag when he realized that, actually, he probably shouldn¡¯t be risking the final out at third base. Braves right fielder Joc Pederson fielded Bellinger¡¯s single far quicker than Taylor had anticipated. So Taylor slammed on the brakes. By then, it was too late.

A rundown ensued, and Taylor was tagged out, negating the Dodgers¡¯ best chance to win Game 1 of the National League Championship Series at Truist Park. A few minutes later, they lost it, 3-2, on a walk-off single from Atlanta third baseman Austin Riley in the bottom of the ninth.

Having out-hit the Braves, 10-6, the Dodgers were left only to rue their missed opportunities. And one missed opportunity, in particular.

¡°It was just a bad read,¡± Taylor said. ¡°I saw it barely got over [second baseman Ozzie] Albies' head, and thought I could get to third. I didn't realize Joc got it so quick and tried to stop. Just, I should've kept going.¡±

The Dodgers¡¯ offense has been inconsistent this postseason, having scored three runs or fewer in five of their seven games. Of course, in the other two, they scored a total of 16. But for a team that boasts one of the best collections of bats in the Majors, their lineup is clearly not firing on all cylinders.

Then again, even when the Dodgers¡¯ offense hasn¡¯t fully clicked this season, they¡¯ve managed to win games because of their savvy. They don¡¯t give away outs. Notably, they don¡¯t run into many outs on the bases. The Dodgers were thrown out only 42 times on the basepaths this season, tied for the seventh-fewest in the Majors, despite finishing tied for the sport¡¯s fourth-highest on-base percentage.

¡°You don't want to make the last out there when we're in scoring position,¡± Taylor put it succinctly.

Taylor never picked up third-base coach Dino Ebel on the play, though that¡¯s standard operating procedure for the Dodgers. The way they teach it, the runner on first base is given the freedom to make his own read on a single hit to the outfield.

Taylor¡¯s read was to break for third. Then, he changed his mind. And that¡¯s where the play went haywire. Even if Taylor had made the wrong decision to go for third, he would¡¯ve at least forced Pederson to make a good throw had he continued to run.

¡°By the book he should have probably stayed,¡± said Dodgers manager Dave Roberts. ¡°But it was hit softly, toward the gap, so I felt that he thought he had a good read on it.

¡°It's one of those where you¡¯ve got to pick. You either are going to go hard ¡­ or just hold up and, two outs, give Mookie a chance. But I think right there he was kind of caught in between. That's when you get in trouble.¡±

Pederson still needed to make a smart split-second decision to throw behind the runner to second base. His throw to Dansby Swanson was low, and the Braves¡¯ shortstop picked it cleanly. Swanson turned to first base to check on Bellinger, then turned toward third where he noticed that Taylor was hung up.

¡°To be honest with you, I thought [Taylor] was going to be at third already, once I jumped and the ball went over my head,¡± Albies said. ¡°When I turned around and I saw him halfway, and he stopped, I said, ¡®OK, we got him.¡¯ Dansby did a great job to pick that ball that Joc threw, and we got him out.¡±

The Braves executed the ensuing rundown with minimal fuss -- Swanson to Riley back to Swanson. As Taylor attempted to avoid Swanson¡¯s tag, he spun and hit his head on Swanson¡¯s left thigh.

Taylor appeared to be shaken up, as he slammed his helmet to the dirt. But afterward, he said he felt fine.

¡°Just frustrated,¡± said Taylor, who had an RBI single in the second inning and then was stranded at third in the seventh after leading off with a hustle double.

Two days after Bellinger¡¯s single with two men aboard gave the Dodgers a ninth-inning lead in Game 5 of the NL Division Series against the Giants, Betts wouldn¡¯t be afforded that same chance.

Presented with a gift, the Braves promptly capitalized, taking a 1-0 lead in the best-of-seven NLCS. In postseason history, teams taking a 1-0 lead in any best-of-seven series have gone on to win that series 116 of 182 times (64%).

¡°Joc did a really good job of closing in on that ball,¡± Atlanta manager Brian Snitker said. ¡°Dansby had a heads-up play, as he always does. You never know. I mean, that's a huge, huge out in the game.¡±