The Los Angeles Dodgers relied on situational hitting and power to defeat the Atlanta Braves, 10-3, which extended their winning streak to seven games.
The Dodgers also remained undefeated in five matchups with the Braves so far this season and look to complete a sweep at Truist Park on Sunday. That game is going to be another national broadcast as it was picked up by ESPN for their “Sunday Night Baseball” programming.
After a rain delay of 1 hour and 13 minutes interrupted play in the ninth inning of the series opener, the Dodgers and Braves didn’t start Saturday’s game until more than three hours after the originally scheduled first pitch.
That didn’t seem to have much affect on Shohei Ohtani, who went 3-for-4. Included in that was a leadoff home run in the third inning that gave the Dodgers a 2-1 lead. Teoscar Hernández later added an RBI single before Spencer Schwellenbach could get through the inning.
Ohtani’s third hit of the game was a two-out single in the fourth inning that was cashed in by Mookie Betts on an RBI double. Betts finished 2-for-4 in the win, has at least one RBI in six consecutive games and has hit safely seven in a row.
Freddie Freeman kept the rally going in the fourth inning with an RBI single that also extended his hitting streak to eight games.
A pitching change didn’t stave off the Dodgers’ momentum, with Aaron Bummer turning an innocent swinging bunt by Hernández into a run-scoring play on his throwing error. Will Smith, who doubled in his first at-bat, added onto the Braves’ woes with an RBI base hit.
Freeman’s three-run home run broke the game open in the eighth inning.
Roki Sasaki allowed three runs over five innings and earned the first win of his career. The right-hander gave up six hits, including one home run, and walked two batters. Sasaki threw a career-high 98 pitches.
Hyeseong Kim entered at second base in the bottom of the ninth inning for his MLB debut.
Dodgers, Braves play latest game at Truist Park
With first pitch delayed until 10:21 p.m. local time, Saturday’s game marked the latest a game has ever started in Truist Park history.
At the time called SunTrust Park, the Braves’ home stadium opened on April 14, 2017, to host its first game. It became known as Truist Park on Jan 14., 2020, when SunTrust Bank and BB&T merged.
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