Two-Out Rally Sinks Kershaw, Dodgers in loss to Braves

ATLANTA – Clayton Kershaw didn’t have his best night on the mound, but he pitched pretty well. The only problem was that the hits he did give up mostly came in one big two-out bunch in the bottom of the third. The Braves got five off Kersh in that frame, and then survived some sloppy defense of their own to secure a 6-4 win in the second game of the weekend series.

Dodgers take the lead in the first

Speaking off sloppy defense, that was on display very early in this game. Braves starter (and Dodgers World Series nemesis) Charlie Morton started off the game by plunking Mookie Betts on the elbow pad. Then, not to be outdone for incompetence, third baseman Austin Riley got caught between hops on a grounder off the bat of Justin Turner. He botched the play, and suddenly the Dodgers had men on first and second with nobody out. After Cody Bellinger hit into a fielder’s choice, Morton decided that an HBP was not quite enough, so he promptly tossed a pickoff throw over first baseman Freddie Freeman‘s head to allow Betts to score the game’s first run.

Kershaw struggles to get off the field in third

However, one cheap run was not going to be enough to win the game tonight. Clayton Kershaw had two very low stress innings, but ran into a world of trouble in the third. Though it certainly didn’t look like it at first. Lead-off man Guillermo Heredia managed to squirt a single through the right side of the infield, but Kershaw got two quick outs from the eight and nine hitters in the Braves line-up.

However, the Dodgers lefty just couldn’t put the Braves away. He was a little too careful with slugger Ronald Acuna Jr. and walked him. Then, Freddy Freeman got the first run home with a solid single to center. Kershaw had Ozzie Albies 1-2, but the Braves second baseman made solid contact with a slider and drove it down the left field line for a two-run double. After an Austin Riley single, Dansby Swanson came through with a two-run double of his own, and suddenly it was 5-1 Braves. Four straight hits off Kershaw, and now the Dodgers had to play catch up the rest of the night.

Braves let Dodgers sneak back into the game

But, thanks to more poor defense from Atlanta, they managed to make a game of it with four straight hits of their own in the top of the fourth. Cody Bellinger and Chris Taylor both singled to corner the runners with nobody out. Matt Beaty then contributed another single to drive home Bellinger, and Gavin Lux hit still one more single to load up the bases, still with nobody out.

Unfortunately, that’s where the rally sort of sputtered. They managed to score a run on a double play ball from Zach McKinstry and another on a throwing error by shortstop Dansby Swanson, but that was it. Still, it was now only a one-run deficit, and the Dodgers had a pulse in the game.

Dodgers stymied by Braves pen

Though the Braves still had the lead, all the sloppy play had taken its toll on Morton’s pitch count, and he would last just one more inning. The Dodgers got into the Braves bullpen in the top of the sixth inning. Usually, that is a good thing. When the Atlanta pen has had to cover four innings this year, they have only shut out their opponents twice all year.

Make that three times. Four Braves relievers pretty much shut down the Dodgers the rest of the way, and though they had a few baserunners, they could never quite break through with a big hit. On the other hand, Blake Treinen came in to pitch the seventh and gave up a lead of home run to Abraham Almonte, who hadn’t hit a home run in many moons. Treinen didn’t look quite right tonight. It was the third straight appearance where he has given up runs. Not ideal.

Muncy out with ankle injury

First baseman Max Muncy sat out the game on Saturday with an ankle tweak that he sustained in Friday night’s win against the Braves. He is day-to-day at the moment, but Dave Roberts felt that the injury wouldn’t have Max on the the shelf too long.

With the 6-4 loss, the Dodgers’ record slips to 34-24. They are now three games behind the division leading San Francisco Giants. They try to take the series with Trevor Bauer on the mound on Sunday. The Braves counter with another playoff foe from last year, Max Fried. A very early 10:20 PDT start for the game. Then, it’s off to Pittsburgh to face a struggling Pirate team before returning home. Two out of three from Atlanta would come in handy right about now. Let’s do this, Dodgers.