LOS ANGELES (AP) — Tdence after consecutive shutouts gave them a commanding 2-0 lead over the Braves in their National League Division Series.Now the Braves must win the first postseason game in their new ballpark to extend their season. And they face some daunting history: only three times have teams that trailed 2-0 rallied to win a best-of-five playoff series under the 2-2-1 format.Atlanta was outscored 9-0 and outhit 10-9 in losing the first two games at Dodger Stadium Tyler Austin Jersey , where Los Angeles slugged five homers.Game 3 is Sunday night at SunTrust Park, with left-hander Sean Newcomb chosen to start for the Braves instead of Kevin Gausman. Manager Brian Snitker announced the change Saturday.The 25-year-old Newcomb came within one strike of throwing a no-hitter against the Dodgers at home July 29. He pitched two scoreless innings in relief of starter Mike Foltynewicz in Thursday’s opener.“We need to win,” Snitker said. “Not that Gausman doesn’t give us that opportunity, we like how Newcomb matches up with them and the success that he’s had against the Dodgers this year.”The Baby Braves ran into back-to-back dominant pitchers in Hyun-Jin Ryu and Clayton Kershaw in Los Angeles. Atlanta didn’t advance a runner past second base in Game 1 and twice got runners to third in Game 2 but couldn’t score.“We need to go out there and string some hits together, a couple big innings,” shortstop Charlie Culberson said.They might be hard-pressed to do that against rookie Walker Buehler, who starts Game 3 for the Dodgers having drawn comparisons to ace Kershaw.“Obviously, it’s a big spot,” Los Angeles manager Dave Roberts said, “but he continues to kind of surpass all expectations.”Buehler, a 24-year-old right-hander, last pitched on Monday, allowing one hit in 6 2/3 innings and striking out three in the NL West tiebreaker victory over the Rockies.“I kind of look at it as like a baby step,” Buehler said about having pitched in a crucial regular-season Game 163. “Obviously, this will be my first playoff game. But 163 has got to be somewhere between a regular game and a playoff game. I’m just kind of going with the same game plan and try and stay under control.”Snitker acknowledged he can’t do much more than juggle his lineup because the Braves’ bench is thin.“I don’t know that moving guys around, giving them different looks in the lineup when you’re swinging the bats like we are is even the answer,” he said http://www.yankeesfanproshop.com/authentic-giancarlo-stanton-jersey , “but we’ll try something a little different.”The Braves closed the regular season with three losses in their last five games, managing just one run in those defeats.“We’ve got to start scoring some runs and hopefully we can do that in front of our home crowd,” said first baseman Freddie Freeman, who was 1 for 8 with two strikeouts in the first two games.Braves leadoff hitter Ronald Acuna Jr. fared only slightly better, going 2 for 8 with two strikeouts. Center fielder Ender Inciarte went 2 for 6 with two strikeouts, while cleanup hitter Nick Markakis was 1 for 7 with two strikeouts in the two losses.“This team’s better when we’ve had our backs against the wall,” Inciarte said. “We’ve shocked a lot of people already — we can do it again.”The Braves are back in the postseason for the first time since 2013, having won 90 games in earning the NL East title earlier in their rebuild than most projected.However, the Braves are 1-8 in playoff series when they lose Game 2. Their lone victory came in the 1996 NLCS when they lost to St. Louis and came back to take the series in seven games.“We’ve still got chances,” Culberson said. “We just need to take a deep breath and go out there and try to have fun.” SURPRISE, Ariz. (AP) — Coming off a pair of difficult seasons, Cole Hamels decided to make some major changes to his winter workouts.“It takes a couple of years for us to realize what we can and cannot do,” the 35-year-old Chicago Cubs left-hander said after his spring debut Wednesday against his former team, the Texas Rangers.Among the changes Hamels made was hiring a trainer for the first time, a “posture specialist” to help make his exercises more efficient.“I stuck to that 5-6 days a week,” he said. “I also changed my strength program, it allowed me to utilize and identify my mechanics a little better Miguel Andujar Jersey , getting back to when I felt at my best. Over a period of time your body doesn’t allow you to do that. You get stronger, but you’re not utilizing everything that you have.”The posture specialist, Hamels said, implemented a 45-minute routine before the workout. “So that when you work out, you’re in the proper form. And then after you’re done, you go back and do some stretching.”Throwing almost exclusively fastballs against Texas on Wednesday, Hamels pitched two innings, allowing two hits. He threw 26 pitches, 17 of them strikes.“It was good just to be able to get out there against guys that are actually swinging the bat against you,” Hamels said. “Just trying to establish the fastball, in the first couple games I’m just trying to get that as the key to my game plan.”Entering his 14th major league season, the four-time All-Star was an asset down the stretch to the Cubs, going 4-3 with a 2.36 ERA in 12 starts after Chicago acquired him from the Rangers. He had been 5-9 with a 4.72 ERA in 20 starts for Texas.“The instant you’re thrown into a playoff race, you focus a little bit more,” Hamels said. “Sometimes with a fresh start you’re not really carrying any extra baggage from a bad start or two.”While Hamels pitched well, it was a disappointing season for the Cubs, two years removed from their World Series title.They were overtaken by Milwaukee in the NL Central late in the season Tim Tebow Jersey , and then lost the wild-card game to Colorado at Wrigley Field, making it the first time in four seasons that Chicago fell short of the NLCS.“This is a really talented young team that has a lot of experience, and you don’t really see that,” Hamels said. “There’s a lot of expectations, and I think to not fall into that and go out and be positive and get the best out of each other. When we’re able to do that, that’s a fun team to be a part of.”But his time in Texas was sidetracked by an oblique injury early in the 2017 season, which prompted the changes to his preparation this offseason.The Cubs open the regular season at Texas and Hamels — who still makes his home in the Dallas area — figures to pitch in that series.“It would be the first time I’ve ever pitched against a team I played for,” Hamels said. “I haven’t had the opportunity to pitch against the Phillies.”“They know what I know, they know what’s coming. So it’s going to be a game, but it will be really fun and it’s a tremendous place to play,” he said.Even with his accomplishments — a career 3.40 ERA, 156 wins and a 2008 World Series MVP with Philadelphia — Hamels hopes to pitch for another decade and has set that as his goal.“I played with Jamie Moyer,” Hamels said of his one-time staff mate with the Phillies who pitched until age 49. “I’d rather play towards 45. That’s my intention. I don’t ever want to stop short.”