The Los Angeles Dodgers kicked off their series against the Atlanta Braves with a bang, earing an 8-2 victory at SunTrust Park on Thursday night.
The big swing of the night for the Dodgers came off the bat off Manny Machado to lead off the sixth inning, when he launched a home run to left-center field off Braves starter Anibal Sanchez. The long ball was Machado’s first since becoming a member of the Dodgers.
His home run was hit on a line at 109 mph, traveling an estimated 426 feet as it sailed a few rows up the bleachers.
Machado also earned a walk in one of his five plate appearances on the night when he was given an intentional free pass in the seventh inning. He hasn’t quite swung the bat as well as he is capable of since joining the Dodgers, but he has still been getting on base with regularity.
Perhaps the bigger story on the night was the performance of Rich Hill, who gave up just three hits and a walk in seven shutout innings, striking out eight. The start was Hill’s best of the season, and he seems to be getting in a bit of a groove since coming off the disabled list.
Hill also had a big night at the plate too as he hit an RBI single in the seventh inning to drive in Alex Verdugo. The hit doubled his total on the season to two, and the RBI was his first on the year.
Hill later came around to score on a two-run hit by Yasmani Grandal, who is currently on fire at the plate. Grandal went 2-for-4 with a walk in the game, improving his slash line .400/.524/.820 in the month of July.
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