Braves at Dodgers series recap: The West Coast is the Best Coast for Atlanta, for once

The Braves certainly had their opportunities to get to Emmet Sheehan and the rest of LA’s pitching staff in this one but they were unable to capitalize on the vast majority of those opportunities. Atlanta collected nine hits and three walks in this one but they ended up leaving 10 runners on base and went 1-for-10 in situations with runners in scoring position. If you let this Dodgers team off the hook enough times, they’re going to eventually make you pay for it. Kyle Tucker smacked an RBI double off of Chris Sale in the second inning to tie the game at 1-1 early and then an RBI single from Shohei Ohtani in the fifth and a solo dinger from old friend Freddie Freeman in the sixth ended up giving the Dodgers just enough offense to squeak out the win. It was a shame since this was a Chris Sale outing and you don’t want to waste too many of those. While Sale did give up five hits and three runs (one of which was unearned after Jim Jarvis followed up an incredible diving catch in the fourth inning with a throwing error in the fifth that eventually led to the Ohtani RBI), he struck out seven batters and finished with seven innings under his belt.

This could’ve been a win if Atlanta’s hitting was timelier. Alas, the Braves got what they got. That’s baseball for you!

This game was all about Spencer Strider, who delivered what was arguably his best pitching performance post-elbow surgery — you could argue that his 13-strikeout night against the Rockies last June was better but the competition was certainly better this time around. Strider was an absolute nightmare for the Dodgers to deal with out there, as he stayed locked in for the most part and tossed six shutout innings with just one hit and two walks allowed with eight strikeouts to boot. Strider had it all going for him in this one and it was certainly encouraging to see him bounce back in an environment that was more conducive to success than Coors Field. Meanwhile, the Dodgers decided that Blake Snell was ready for his first start of the season instead of giving him another rehab start to prepare for big league action. That decision ended up not working out for Los Angeles, as the Braves ended up jumping on him for five runs (four earned) through just three innings. The Braves had a 1-0 lead with the bases loaded wand two out in the second before they got a rally going to put some serious breathing room between themselves and the Dodgers. Ozzie Albies golfed one from close to the ground and into the outfield for an RBI single that plated two runners, then a rare passed ball from Will Smith moved the two remaining runners into scoring position. Matt Olson capitalized on it by looping one into the green space for another two runs to make it a 5-0 game.

Atlanta added on a couple of runs via a fifth-inning RBI double from Michael Harris II and an eighth-inning RBI single from Drake Baldwin to make it a 7-0 lead. The only thing that kept the Dodgers from getting blanked at home for the first time this season was Andy Pages hitting a two-run dinger at Reynaldo López’s expense. Other than that, this was a very comprehensive win for the Braves. The win came as small comfort for Braves Country, as the organization mourned the loss of another massive figure in the franchise’s history. Just days after former owner Ted Turner passed away, legendary manager Bobby Cox also passed away shortly before the game on Saturday. The sports world as a whole came together to mourn one of the most important figures of the sport during the 1990s and it has to be said that BravesVision did a great job of pulling together a very solid tribute broadcast in honor of the skipper.

In the ultimate matchup of “Who’s going to keep on getting away with it,” we got our answer. Bryce Elder came out of this battle against Justin Wrobleski wtih the winning edge, as Elder ended up making it into the sixth inning with just one hit allowed while striking out eight batters. For 5.2 innings, Elder was absolutely dazzling in such a huge spot for Atlanta as the Braves were going for a rare series win at Dodger Stadium.

With that being said, Elder did eventually run into serious trouble with two out in the sixth inning, which is when he suddenly lost all command and walked the bases loaded on 14 pitches across those three walks. Walt Weiss made the astute decision to go with Robert Suarez in this situation but it almost backfired when Max Muncy crushed one out to right field. Eli White proceeded to put it all on the line as he went crashing into the wall to make a catch that helped preserve the shutout instead of dealing with what would’ve surely been at least three runs allowed. White ended up paying the price for it, as he exited the game after he tried to take a plate appearance in the following inning. While Wrobleski did end up coming one out away from pitching a complete game, he did so while getting lit up by the Braves. Atlanta torched Wrobleski for four runs in the second inning, with the major blow being a bases-clearing double down the left-field line that built upon Eli White’s RBI single earlier on in the second to make it a 4-0 game for the Braves. Wrobleski calmed down after that but ultimately, Dave Roberts’ decision to keep Wrobleski out there came back to bite him.

Drake Baldwin hit a solo shot in the eighth inning to give the Braves a 5-0 lead and then after Max Muncy made up for his near-miss in the sixth with a two-run dinger in the bottom of the eighth, Matt Olson responded with a solo shot of his own to get one of those runs back. They got both of them back after Jorge Mateo eventually brought in another run off of Wyatt Mills. Both of those homers from Baldwin and Olson came in their fourth go-around with Wrobleski, which is why you don’t normally see pitchers go four times through the order. Anyways, Raisel Iglesias got the ball for the ninth and had no problem keeping the Dodgers quiet as the Braves ended up cruising to another 7-2 win — this time for the series. This was really and truly a trying week for the Atlanta Braves. On top of this being a load road trip out West against some tricky-to-tough competition, this was also an emotional week due to the passing of both Ted Turner and Bobby Cox. On the field, this was also a really tricky time to lose Ronald Acuña Jr. due to injury. It would’ve been totally understandable if the Braves had ended up faltering in this series in Los Angeles following the disappointing series loss to the Mariners. Instead, the Braves rose to the challenge and finished the West Coast swing in strong fashion. Any time the Braves can pick up a series in in any ballpark in California, it’s a bonus — doing it at Dodger Stadium is like hitting the jackpot. While the Dodgers offense is currently in the midst of a bit of a slump, it’s a testament to the performance of Atlanta’s pitching staff during this series that they were able to keep the Dodgers mired in that slump. Even Chris Sale’s performance in a losing effort was solid as usual. Seeing Spencer Strider perform like he did on Saturday night was incredibly encouraging and if Bryce Elder is doing this against the Dodgers then it’s probably safe to assume that he can keep up this level of form for the foreseeable future. Instead, the Braves continue to fire on all cylinders and now they’re heading home after a lovely 6-3 West Coast swing. Personally, I would’ve been happy with 4-5 considering how Atlanta has recently performed out West. Instead, the Braves have shown now that the venue doesn’t matter — they’re going to be a nightmare to deal with on every night. It’s reminiscent of how this team was clicking back in 2022 and 2023 and picking up a series win in Los Angeles is very, very encouraging to see. They’ll now have another day off before getting set for what’ll be a very interesting homestand. Another showdown is on the immediate horizon with the red-hot Cubs coming to town. If the Braves can make another statement against Chicago then they could have an opportunity to really keep this train going in the right track with a favorable stretch against Boston (twice), the Marlins and the Nationals. This could be another big month for the Braves, which would be huge once they get past the traditional early sign post of Memorial Day and into the Summer. Things are going very well for the Atlanta Braves at the moment and it’s exciting to see just how far this team can go and how high they can keep on flying at the moment.