Freddie Freeman had an emotional reunion with his former Atlanta Braves teammates, then went out and hit his first home run to help the Los Angeles Dodgers to a 7-4 victory that extended their winning streak to seven games.
While Freeman was coming off a four-hit performance and been part of other highlights early into his Dodgers career, the long ball continued to evade him. Freeman quickly changed that by sending the second pitch he saw from Huascar Ynoa into the pavilion in center field.
Freeman’s at-bat in the first inning again began with Dodgers fans chanting his name. “I kind of like it, but they’re chanting every time I go up to bat and I feel like I’ve got to do something special every time,” he joked before the game.
Freeman finished the night 1-for-3 with two walks.
His home run remained the difference in a tight game until the Dodgers lineup once again exploded to break it open. Monday marked the fifth time in 10 games this season they have scored at least five runs in a single inning.
The bottom of the fourth started with Justin Turner hitting a double off the wall and Will Smith following that with a single to put runners at the corners. Cody Bellinger’s groundout brought in a run, and so did Edwin Ríos’ RBI single.
Then after Mookie Betts and Freeman worked consecutive walks with two outs to load the bases, Trea Turner began a new hitting streak with a three-run double. Bellinger provided needed insurance in the eighth with his second home run of the season.
Dodgers outhit by Braves
There wasn’t any suspense with Clayton Kershaw in his second start of the season as the Braves needed all of three batters to get their first hit.
Kershaw did manage to keep Atlanta off the scoreboard until Guillermo Heredia hit a two-out solo home run in the fifth inning.
More trouble came in the sixth when Ozzie Albies led off with a home run. Matt Olson followed that with a single and Austin Riley hit a ground-rule double that knocked Kershaw out of the game at five-plus innings.
The Braves scored a run against Brusdar Graterol on an RBI groundout and another when Travis d’Arnaud flared a single into shallow left field. Eddie Rosario kept the pressure on with a pinch-hit double, but Graterol stranded the tying runners in scoring position.
Daniel Hudson, Phil Bickford and Craig Kimbrel then threw a scoreless inning each to wrap up the win. Nevertheless, Atlanta finished with 10 hits to L.A.’s seven.
Kenley Jansen did not appear in his first game back at Dodger Stadium since signing with the Braves.
Have you subscribed to the Dodger Blue YouTube channel? Be sure to ring the notification bell to watch player interviews, participate in shows and giveaways, and stay up to date on all Dodgers news and rumors!
