Max Langer
Game 7, 4/1/2025: Dodgers 3, Braves 1
CHAVEZ RAVINE, CA – Dustin May underwent a major elbow surgery to repair his flexor tendon in 2023, then suffered a torn esophagus last July, an unexpected tragedy that threatened not only his baseball career, but his life. It’s remarkable that May even returned to baseball after all he’s been through, but tonight, the 27 year old right-hander did a heck of a lot more than return to the mound, in his first outing in nearly two years.
Facing the reigning Cy Young award-winner in Chris Sale, May carved through the Braves’ lineup, striking out the side in the first inning and going five innings while K’ing six Atlanta hitters. The only run he allowed was unearned, when Mookie Betts was unable to complete a double play in the second inning, as the ball slipped out of his hand and landed about twenty feet to the right of first baseman Enrique Hernandez.
Sale was excellent as well, only allowing one hit through five innings, an infield single to Teoscar Hernandez to begin the second. But the Atlanta southpaw faltered in the sixth inning. Shohei Ohtani singled to right to open the frame, and Mookie Betts smacked a fly ball off of (and over) the left field wall for a two-run homer that made it 2-1, Dodgers. Two pitches later, Sale was removed following the Dodgers’ third consecutive knock, a Tommy Edman line drive that found the centerfield grass, and Edman scored two hitters later when Will Smith singled him home.
The bullpen picked up right where Dustin May left off. Anthony Banda worked out of a jam in the sixth, Alex Vesia threw a 1-2-3 seventh inning, and Blake Treinen pitched a scoreless inning in the eighth. Tanner Scott bounced back from some early-season struggles and retired the side in order on ten pitches to slam the door.
Keyed by Dustin May’s stellar first start back, the Dodgers are 7-0, and are tied with the 1933 Yankees for the best start to a season by a defending champion. It’s the best start in LA Dodgers history. They’ll go for eight in a row tomorrow at 5:38 PM PST, when Blake Snell will make his second start in Dodger blue. Atlanta will counter with Bryce Elder, who replaces recently injured Reynaldo Lopez in the Braves’ rotation. Then, it’s off to Philadelphia for the first (domestic) road trip of the year.
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