The Los Angeles Dodgers dropped their series opener against the Atlanta Braves due to poor starting pitching and a lack of offense in a 6-2 loss.
Landon Knack was on the mound looking to continue his early success, but things did not go well for the rookie starter.
Singles from Jorge Soler and Marcell Ozuna plus an RBI double from Matt Olson put the Braves up 1-0 in the first inning, and the Braves nearly added on with a home run, but the ball ended up being caught at the wall.
Things went downhill quickly in the second inning. Orlando Arcia started with a walk and Gio Urshela followed with a home run to make it 3-0 Braves.
A single from Whit Merrifield set the stage for Soler to blast the second two-run homer of the inning. Two more batters reached base as Knack struggled through the inning, but he got out of it with a ground out.
That ended Knack’s night with just two innings pitched as he allowed five runs on seven hits with two walks and two strikeouts. He didn’t have his command at any point in the game and made far too many uncompetitive pitches.
The Dodgers got on the board in the third inning with a solo home run from Miguel Rojas and cut into the defecit more in the fourth when Teoscar Hernández doubled and Tommy Edman singled him home.
After that, the Dodgers couldn’t get anything going on offense as they were shut down by the Braves for the rest of the game.
Dodgers bullpen turns in strong outing
After Knack, Michael Grove entered and pitched two scoreless innings, giving up just one hit while striking out one.
Brusdar Graterol and Daniel Hudson both worked a scoreless frame as well with each allowing one walk and striking out one while not allowing a hit.
Brent Honeywell pitched the final two innings, but allowed one run in the eighth after he balked a runner into scoring position and allowed a single to Michael Harris II.
Getting multiple innings from both Honeywell and Grove helped the Dodgers not fully burn their bullpen in a short start, and the effectiveness of the Dodgers’ relief group forced the Braves to use their leverage arms, potentially helping L.A. in the games moving forward.
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