The Los Angeles Dodgers completed a sweep of the Atlanta Braves with a 5-1 win, led by a great performance from James Paxton and two home runs from Shohei Ohtani.
Paxton pitched 6.2 innings, giving up just one run on five hits. While he only struck out three hitters, the most important thing was he limited the Braves to just one walk.
Paxton has been struggling with his command this season, and it’s been frustrating the left-hander. Prior to the start, he was walking 7.7 hitters per nine, the highest of his 11-year career.
It was a much-needed performance for the Big Maple, who kept the Braves off the scoreboard until the seventh. Paxton allowed three consecutive hits to start his final inning, including a home run to Marcell Ozuna that put Atlanta on the board.
Thankfully, Teoscar Hernández saved a run by throwing out Matt Olson the play prior as he attempted to stretch a single into a double.
On offense, the Dodgers did all their scoring via the long ball. Mookie Betts walked to lead off the first inning, and that was followed by a two-run homer from Ohtani, giving him the team-lead in homers.
Ohtani’s was the ninth of his season as he extended his Dodgers franchise record for home runs by a Japanese-born player after passing his manager, Dave Roberts, for the top spot on the list the day prior.
In the sixth inning, Hernández doubled the lead with a two-run homer with Freddie Freeman on first base. It proved to be some much-needed insurance when the Braves got their first run, keeping their deficit at three runs rather than one.
Ohtani added some insurance in the eighth inning with his second home run of the day. A laser that traveled 464 feet, giving him his first two home run day with the Dodgers.
Blake Treinen makes return to Dodgers
The Dodgers activated Blake Treinen prior to the game, but unfortunately it came at the cost of Evan Phillips, who landed on the 15-day injured list.
Treinen entered the game in the eighth inning and struck out the first batter he faced with an unreal slider. He went on to also retire the next two hitters he faced in a perfect inning.
It was Treinen’s first game at the Major League level since 2022.
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