Steve Webb
ATLANTA, GA — It didn’t have a all the pathos that the Dodgers’ last trip to Atlanta held, but Freddie Freeman‘s second trip back to his old home ballpark had plenty of drama just the same. After spotting the NL East leading Braves a 4-0 lead in the first inning, the Dodgers patiently worked their way back into this game, eventually overtaking the Braves in the middle innings, and then holding on for an 8-6 in a thrilling ballgame to open this three-game set.
It was prospect Gavin Stone‘s second start in the big leagues, and other than that rocky first inning, he acquitted himself well against a deep Braves lineup. In fact, the first inning runs could have been avoided had he gotten a little more help from the defense. James Outman didn’t get a great read on a Ronald Acuna Jr. liner and it sailed over his head for a leadoff double. A couple of productive outs later and the Braves were on the board. The real damage came a few hitters later when Dodger nemesis Eddie Rosario jacked a three-run shot to right field. The Braves were ahead 4-0 and given the last few days in St. Louis, things did not bode well.
However, the Dodgers showed a lot of persistence in this one. Gavin Stone righted the ship after the first and threw three shutout innings to finish his day.
“[Pitching coach Mark Prior] came over after the first inning and just kind of settled me down a little bit,” Stone said. “It helped. It helped a lot. I was able to refocus and make pitches that I wasn’t making in the first inning.”
Meanwhile, the Dodgers’ bats started to work their way back into the contest. J.D. Martinez started the scoring with a solo homer in the top of the second, and the Dodgers were off and running. The big blast of the game was good ol’ Freddie Freeman, haunting his team with a go-ahead three-run home run in the 5th inning. Freeman took starter Morton deep in a pole-hugger of a drive that just stayed fair and put the Dodgers on top for good. In all Freeman and Martinez were the definite hitting stars of the night. Martinez went 4-for-5 with two solo home runs, and Freddie was 3-for-5 with that three-run jack, and a hustle double that turned into a run just based on Freeman’s baserunning acumen in the top of the 4th.
“It was a lot more normal than last year, I can tell you that,” Freeman said of his return to Atlanta. “But my dad wasn’t here last year, and he’s here tonight, so I really wanted to do well for him. Got the first one out of the way first at-bat, and then was able to really settle down after that.”
After the sour experience of St. Louis, the road trip was given a second start with this game, and the Dodgers came through with a solid win.
“It’s too early to say it was like a playoff game, but when we get together, you can see the way [Braves manager Brian Snitker] managed and how I managed,” manager Roberts said. “We exhausted a lot tonight, but it feels good to win this one.”
But in the words of famous Georgia resident Scarlett O’Hara, “Tomorrow is another day,” and the Dodgers will have their work cut out for them when they face hot young righty Spencer Strider. It’ll be Bobby Miller‘s debut, so set those DVRs for 4:10 pm and let’s get this series in our pocket before the night is over.
