Steve Webb
ATLANTA, GA — Everything up to game time on Friday night was all about Freddie Freeman. So much so that I was a little scared the guy wouldn’t make it to first pitch without having a breakdown from all the emotion. However, he pulled himself together by game time, and was a key contributor in the Dodgers’ 4-1 victory over the Atlanta Braves.
Dodgers jump on Anderson early
Once the pre-game festivities were out of the way, it was Braves starter Ian Anderson who seemed overwhelmed by the moment. Trea Turner led off the game with a single, and then came the big moment of Freddie’s first at-bat. He got a very appreciative ovation from a crowd that knew just what Number 5 had meant to the Braves organization during the last decade.
But once he got in the box, Anderson couldn’t find the strike zone. He walked Freeman on only five pitches, most of which weren’t even close to the zone. Freeman took first, and had to have had an interesting chat with Matt Olson while he was there.
He wasn’t there long. Four pitches later, Will Smith smacked a single to left to score Turner and move Freeman to third. A Max Muncy walk came next, and the Dodgers had the bases loaded with nobody out. They managed just one more run though. A Justin Turner sac fly scored Freeman, and the Dodgers took the field already up 2-0.
Urías throws the heck out of the ball
Simply put, Julio Urias had one of his best starts of the year. And the way he’s been going of late, that is saying something. He walked Ronald Acuna Jr. in the first, and Matt Olson hit a double in the second, but beyond that, the Braves got nothing going against the Dodgers’ lefty in this one. His fastball was a particularly effective pitch, getting numerous Bravo hitters to climb the ladder and chase heaters out of the zone.
Dodgers tack on in the fifth
Anderson settled down considerably after the first inning, and the Dodgers went scoreless the next three at-bats. However, in the top of the fifth, the young righty started to run out of gas. Trea Turner led off the inning with a no-doubt oppo taco blast into the right field seats to make it a 3-0 game. It was the third hit of the night for Turner, and his tenth in the last three games. Over this little stretch, Trea has raised his batting average to .318, good for 5th in the NL.
After the Trea jack, Freeman walked again, and then Will Smith smoked a double down the third base line. With runners on second and third, Max Muncy walked to load the bases once again. And once again, the Dodgers didn’t cash in as much as they could have.
After a Chris Taylor K, Justin Turner hit what could have been an inning-ending double play. But the turn wasn’t as clean as the Braves might have hoped and Turner beat the relay to first. Freeman scored on the play, his second run of the day. Add to that a solid single to the right side in the top of the 6th and it was a pretty productive day at ball park for Freddie in his return to Atlanta.
Urías limits the damage, ends on a high note
Now leading 4-0, Julio took the mound for the sixth, what would turn out to be his last inning of work. The Braves got a little rally going on a bunch of chump hits. With one out, Ronald Acuna reached first on a little squibber that barely went thirty feet. Then, Dansby Swanson doinked a little bloop into right. The ball just evaded Trayce Thompson‘s glove, allowing Acuna to scamper to third. Austin Riley had a good at-bat that ended in a walk, and suddenly the bases were loaded.
Time to dig deep. El Culichi got Matt Olson to hit a weak fly to right center that Chris Taylor could have gone home on. But instead of risking the speedy Acuna beating the throw home, Taylor opted to concede the run and threw to third instead. It turned out to be the right move. Urías struck out Marcel Ozuna on some high cheese, and ended the Braves’ threat. It was a gritty ending to a great night. Julio’s line for the evening 6.0 IP, 3 H, 1 ER, 2 BB, 9 K.
Hudson goes down in 8th
After Evan Phillips pitched a 1-2-3 7th inning, Daniel Hudson came on in the 8th for his usual set-up man job against the top of the Braves lineup. After recording the first out, he got Ronald Acuna to once again hit a little nubber in front of the mound. Hudson tried to field it but something in his leg gave out. He collapsed in pain on the mound and Will Smith’s throw to first was too late.
Acuna was on, but it was pretty apparent that Dave Roberts‘ bigger concern was the condition of his prize reliever. Hudson lay on the ground in pain for several minutes, and he had to come out of the game, limping all the way to the dugout. After the game, Doc announced the worst news possible: Hudson had suffered a season-ending ACL injury. Ugh. This on the same day that Heaney goes on the IL. Not great. Craig Kimbrel, you better get your shit together, stat.
In fact Kimbrel did pitch the ninth, and though he gave a up a hit to Matt Olson on a ball that was just fair down the first base line, he shut down the Braves after that. Good. More of that, please.
National TV on Saturday and Sunday
The last two games of this big series will both be broadcast by the networks. Saturday’s contest will be on Fox, and Sunday’s will be the ESPN showcase game of the week. Both games have a 4:00 PDT start time. With Heaney out, it will be Mitch White pitching on Saturday, and Tony Gonsolin closes out the series on Sunday against hot new rookie Spencer Strider. It will be, as they say, must-see TV.
Cans of Corn…
- Julio’s ERA is 1.54 in June.
- Damn. Daniel Hudson. Ouch, man.
- Freddie was overcome with emotion in pregame pressers, so much so that he had to leave the room to compose himself. It’s pretty obvious his heart is still in Atlanta.
- Brusdar did a nice job of getting himself into and then out of a jam after the Hudson injury.
- This offense just seems to work better with Trea hitting lead-off.
- 1-for-9 with RISP on Friday. Left a lot of meat on the bone.
- Big moment for Mitch White to step up on Saturday.
