Steve Webb
CHAVEZ RAVINE, CA — Sometimes, Hollywood doesn’t have anything on sports. If a writer in a pitch meeting wanted to sell the Freddie Freeman story, he might have trouble getting anyone to listen. In yet another goose-bump inducing moment, Freeman hit a home run in his very first at-bat against his former team, the Atlanta Braves. And though there would be plenty of good things after that, that emotional moment proved to be the indelible memory that fans took out of the ballpark after the Dodgers’ 7-4 win on Monday night.
Kersh cruises early
In yet another subplot in this fascinating series, Game 1 of this three-gamer featured the second start of Clayton Kershaw. Kersh was coming off his masterpiece in Minnesota, where he went seven perfect innings, so expectations were sky-high for a repeat performance. We didn’t get quite perfection, but instead five solid innings of work before the Cy Young winner just flat out ran out of gas. Until he got nicked for a Guillermo Heredia homer in the top of the fifth, Kershaw looked very good indeed. In those first five innings of work, he gave up that lone run on only three hits while striking out seven. The sixth inning was another story, but more on that later.
Freeman blast puts Dodgers on the board
The Dodgers got things started quickly in the bottom of the first. After a Mookie Betts flyout opened the Dodgers’ half of the first, Freddie Freeman stepped into the box for his first at-bat of the night, facing his former teammate Huascar Ynoa. There had been hugs and smiles before the game began, but as soon as he stepped in the box, Freeman was ready to rock and roll. After fouling off the first pitch, he unloaded on an 0-1 fastball, and sent it deep to left centerfield. It just cleared the fence, staking the Dodgers to a 1-0 lead, but it also sort of put a button on the drama of the last 30 days.
“There’s no storyline or anything like that, there’s no poetic justice or anything like that,” Freeman said after the game with his usual smile. “I love the Atlanta Braves. I will always love the Atlanta Braves. I’m just happy I was able to help the Dodgers win a game tonight.”
How about another big inning?
As emotional as the big first-inning dinger was, it wasn’t the difference in this game. As has been their habit in the early part of the season, the Dodgers got their runs in bunches on Monday night. This time, they cashed in on some timely hitting for a five-run fourth inning that staked them to a comfortable 6-0 lead.
Every Dodger in the lineup came to the plate in the big inning, and they were able to hang a five-spot on the board without the benefit of a home run. Justin Turner started the party with a lead-off double, and advanced to third on a Will Smith single. Cody Bellinger hit a hot grounder to the right side of the infield that first baseman Matt Olson couldn’t handle cleanly, allowing Turner to score the game’s second run. Edwin Rios, playing DH on Monday, came through with an RBI single of his own to make the score 3-0.
But the big blow of the night was provided by Trea Turner. After a pair of two-out walks loaded the bases, Turner stepped to the plate with a chance to blow the game open. He did just that, ripping a single down the left field line that rattled around in the corner and allowed all three runners to scamper home. Now up 6-0, it seemed like the Dodgers were going to cruise to another easy victory.
Braves crawl back into the game
It might have seemed like it was going to be a laugher, but the Atlanta Braves are still a pretty formidable opponent, and they showed why in the sixth inning. After the Heredia homer put them on the board in the fifth, the Braves jumped all over Clayton in the sixth. Ozzie Albies led off with a solo homer, which was quickly followed by a Matt Olson single and an Austin Riley double that put runners at second and third with nobody out.
Kershaw night was over. He walked off the mound with a 6-2 lead. It was Brusdar Graterol who was tasked with keeping the score right there and he nearly pulled it off. He struck out the next hitter, and then got a ground ball from Adam Duvall. Unfortunately, the ball was hit deep in the hole, allowing Olson to score on the put out. The next hitter, Travid d’Arnaud came to the plate and managed to loop a little single into left that found the green. Riley scored and suddenly it was 6-4 Dodgers.
Though the bleeding would stop on the next out, the damage had been done. All four of the Braves’ runs were charged to the starter Kershaw, making his line for the night 5.0 IP, 6 H, 4 ER, 7 K.
Bullpen holds and Belli bombs
The Dodgers were now in the business of holding their two-run lead, which they were able to do through some good relief pitching in the final three innings. After Graterol finished up the sixth for Kershaw, it was Daniel Hudson in the seventh and Phil Bickford in the eighth to keep the score at 6-4.
Then in the Dodgers’ half of the eighth, there was another good sign in the redemption tour of Cody Bellinger. He ripped a line drive home run off new Braves reliever Jackson Stephens. The ball cleared the center field fence and Belli rounded the bases with another multi-hit game, his fifth of this young season. It’s not quite time to write the “Belli is back!” piece, but it’s getting close.
Now with a three-run cushion, Craig Kimbrel came on to finish off the Braves in the ninth. He pitched a weird 1-2-3 inning to end the game. He struck out the first Braves hitter, Alex Dickerson, but Dickerson reached on what was ruled a wild pitch on the third strike. However, Dickerson was quickly erased on a double play ball and there were two outs in the inning. Ozzie Albies grounded out to Trea Turner and the game was over.
The Dodgers and Braves will be back at it on Tuesday night at the Stadium. Walker Buehler will try to keep the winning streak going as he faces off against lefty Max Fried, who is off to a bit of a rough start this year. 7:10 first pitch.
Cans of Corn…
- Lots of nice moments in the pre-game. Freddie got his silver slugger award for last year with Braves manager Brian Snitker on hand.
- Charlie Freeman hugging Dansby Swanson was too cute.
- Kenley Jansen said he expected the Dodger fans to welcome him warmly if he gets into a game, but hoped they did not play “California Love” when it happened.
- You would think Blake Treinen would have gotten the call in a tight one like this, but apparently his arm is barking a little bit. Probably unavailable for the entire series.
- Though Clayton got dinged for four earned runs in this one, he pitched much better than that. Just ran out of gas.
- The Dodgers’ offense is now averaging 6.7 runs a game. Easy to win a lot of ballgames when that happens.
