The Atlanta Braves were heading into their series with the Los Angeles Dodgers with momentum. They were on a run of having four straight series wins and had just returned home from a productive road trip out West against the Arizona Diamondbacks and Colorado Rockies.
However, the Dodgers are always a tough team to deal with at any given time, even with a spotty form on the road. While it wasn’t unreasonable to think that the Braves could take this series against the powerhouse from Southern California, it would still be a tough task for Atlanta to keep their series win streak going. Let’s take a look at how this weekend’s series went.
Los Angeles Dodgers vs. Atlanta Braves Series Recap
Game 1: Dodgers 2, Braves 1
This ended up being an intense pitchers’ duel. Grant Holmes was awesome and pulled out one of his best starts of the season so far. Holmes finished with six innings pitched, striking out nine, and only walking two. Unfortunately, he gave up a pair of runs, including a no-doubter from Mookie Betts that gave the Dodgers their second run of the game.
That second run ended up being all the Dodgers needed to win the game, as Yoshinobu Yamamoto was sensational for Los Angeles once again. Yamamoto also went six innings but he only gave up one hit and struck out six while only allowing two walks, both to Marcell Ozuna. The Braves were only able to muster up two hits in the whole game. One of those hits was a home run from Matt Olson off of Kirby Yates which made sure that Atlanta wouldn’t get shut out but ultimately this was just a case of running into a star pitcher who is currently at the top of his game.
Game 2: Dodgers 10, Braves 3
This game was heavily affected by rain, with over a three-hour delay. The game didn’t get started until 10:21 p.m. ET, which is now the latest start time in the history of Truist Park.
The result of this game was pretty similar to what we’ve seen in most Dodgers vs. Braves games this season. Spencer Schwellenbach got rocked for six runs over 3.2 innings, as the Dodgers scored early and often. It was 7-1 Los Angeles at one point before Ozzie Albies responded with a home run and Nick Allen would also get an RBI to bring Atlanta within four. Then Freddie Freeman would homer off of Scott Blewett in the eighth inning to bring us to the final score of 10-3 in a game that would end after 1:00 a.m. ET.
Game 3: Braves 4, Dodgers 3
Sunday Night Baseball would give us the rare treat of seeing Atlanta play from ahead against Los Angeles. After Bryce Elder struck out the side to start the game, Austin Riley hit a two-run home run to put the Braves out in front early. Riley enjoyed facing Dustin May so much that he would hit another two-run homer in his very next plate appearance, putting the Braves up 4-0.
From that point on it was all about holding on and making sure that the four-run lead stuck. Slowly but surely, the Dodgers spent the middle and later portions of the game chipping away at the deficit. It was a game that felt very similar to the series finale in Los Angeles where the Braves blew a 5-0 lead that eventually resulted in a walk-off home run from Shohei Ohtani.
The Braves got to the ninth inning with Raisel Iglesias on the mound and a 4-3 lead at stake. The tying run for the Dodgers eventually made it to third base with one out but Iglesias was able to strike out the side in order to salvage the series for Atlanta.
Final Thoughts
Thankfully the Braves didn’t get swept in this one. While they’re further away from .500 than they were at the start of this series, they were at least able to end the series on a high note. Going 1-6 against any team is dreadful, and there is no denying that but at least they were able to end their nightmare season series against the Dodgers with a positive outcome. Riley has certainly continued his resurgence at the plate and the Braves don’t win on Sunday without his two home runs.
Excluding Saturday’s debacle, the pitching held up pretty well against Los Angeles as well. We could potentially be talking about a series win for Atlanta if Yamamoto wasn’t playing at such an elite level at the moment because the pitching staff for the Braves definitely pitched well enough to win on Friday night. They certainly got the job done on Sunday night as well. Elder and Holmes both appear to be getting in a groove and this is exactly what Atlanta needs right now.
There’s no rest for the weary, as they now have four games against a Cincinnati Reds team that certainly appears to have improved under their new manager Terry Francona. For now, the Braves can at least feel good about ending their season series against the Dodgers on a high note and move on.
Main Image: Dale Zanine-Imagn Images
