Steve Webb
ATLANTA, GA — Some bad karma with the Dodgers and injuries lately. The day after Mookie Betts goes on the IL, Eddie Alvarez misplays a couple of balls in right and the Dodgers lose. And now, the day after Daniel Hudson goes down with injury, Brusdar Graterol gets lit up in the eighth, giving up the go-ahead homerun to Marcel Ozuna. It wasted a valiant comeback in a game where they looked dead in the water for the first six innings. But it turned into a thriller, one that the Dodgers ended up on the losing end of, by a score of 5-3.
Emergency starter Mitch White hangs in there
Because of Andrew Heaney‘s return to the IL, it was Mitch White who got the start on Saturday night. In fact, he didn’t do half bad. If not for a Dansby Swanson two-run jack in the bottom of the third, White would have had a scoreless outing. He gave up a few hits along the way, and had to get bailed out by Alex Vesia in the fifth, but other than that, he acquitted himself well. Vesia did end up giving up a run that was charged to White, so his line for the night ended up being 4.0 IP, 5 H, 3 ER, 2 BB, 3 K.
Dodgers can’t solve Fried through six
Meanwhile, local product Max Fried was dealing for the Braves. Other than Trea Turner, who’s been hitting everybody lately, the Dodgers’ lineup was largely quiet against the Braves lefty the first two times through the lineup. And, they were swinging and missing. A lot. Aided by a generous strike zone, Fried racked up 9 strikeouts on the evening. In all, the Dodgers struck out 16 times in this one, a season high. Not great.
Breakthrough in the 7th
The Dodgers went into the top of the 7th, looking very much like they were conceding defeat. Dave Roberts threw second-tier guy David Price in the bottom of the 6th, so it seemed as if he was keeping his powder dry for Sunday night. However, the Dodgers’ offense had something to say about that. After Chris Taylor worked a walk and Justin Turner banged a single to left, the Dodgers had two men on with nobody out. However, a couple of quick strikeouts to Thompson and Alberto, and it appeared as if Fried might be able to get off the hook and head into the dugout with his shutout intact.
It especially looked good when the next hitter was Cody Bellinger, who has a history of struggling with any lefthander, much less one of the best in the league. However, Cody put together a great two-out at-bat. He worked it to a full count, fouling off three pitches along the way. One of those foul balls was an absolute cannon shot to right that came within inches of being a three-run Belli bomb. However, Bellinger kept battling, and finally took a fastball up the middle for a run-scoring hit to put the Dodgers on the board.
That was it for Fried and the “other Will Smith” came on to face Austin Barnes. Barnsey got the better of him, banging an RBI single into right to make it 3-2. After Trea Turner walked, guess who came up with the bases loaded and two out? That’s right, Freddie Freeman. However, it was a bit of a “Casey at the Bat” moment for Freeman. He whiffed on four pitches, and didn’t look particularly good in doing so. It was one of three strikeouts for Freeman on the evening. He did hit a single earlier in the ballgame, but his big RBI chance went by the wayside.
Smith ties it in the eighth
After Evan Phillips pitched an absolutely dominant inning in the Braves’ half of the 7th, the Dodgers got right to work in the 8th off new reliever AJ Minter. Minter tried to slip a first pitch fastball by Minter, and the Fresh Prince would have none of it. He blasted a no-doubt solo shot to left, and all of a sudden we had ourselves a whole new ball game.
Ozuna breaks the tie
The euphoria Dodgers fans felt after the 8th barely lasted through the commercial break, because Brusdar Graterol, pitching for a second straight night, was greeted extremely rudely by Travis d’Arnaud. The Braves catcher pounced a middle-in heater from Graterol and banged it off the left centerfield fence for a leadoff double. Two pitches later, the game was essentially over, when Marcel Ozuna mashed a slider over the centerfield fence to give the Braves a 5-3 cushion going into the 9th inning.
To throw salt in the wounds, Kenley Jansen looked fantastic in the ninth, retiring the Dodgers in order and recording his 20th save in twenty-three tries. Ugh.
Rubber match in Prime Time
The Dodgers and Braves have played five very entertaining games so far this season with the Dodgers winning three of them. They get a shot to win the season series on Sunday. And, as luck would have it, we’re throwing our hottest pitcher, Tony Gonsolin. The Braves counter with their rookie sensation Spencer Strider, who has had a great first year in the bigs. It’ll be a 4:10 start ESPN Sunday Night Baseball extravaganza, so as Davis (both Joe and Bette) like to say, buckle those seatbelts. Must-see TV.
Cans of Corn…
- Sooner or later, Freddie’s got to become a Dodger in his heart. Can’t have any of this weakness in a playoff situation.
- Trayce Thompson seemed to have a misplay right before the Swanson homer. Mookie might have had that ball from Michael Harris that was smoked right at him.
- Graterol two days in a row instead of a rested Almonte. I don’t get it.
- Belli looked good at the plate in a game where he was matched against Max Fried, a tall order for a hitter with his profile.
- More RISP woes. 2-for-11 in this one.
- Kenley hit like 98 on a couple of pitches in the 9th.
- JT stole second. He hasn’t been caught stealing in 4 years.
