Atlanta Takes Two Out of Three in Exciting Series With the Dodgers
May 3-5, 2024
In a series of two powerhouses, it was Atlanta that came out on top in this series. The first game featured two of the best lefties in the game, and Max Fried and Clayton Kershaw came out with nearly identical stat lines. Both threw six innings and gave up two runs, though Kershaw dealt more walks while Fried probably got away with a few more mistakes, though he did give up a two-run homer to Mookie Betts. In what became a matchup of the bullpens, the Braves trio of Reynaldo Lopez, AJ Minter, and Raisel Iglesias combined for three innings, no base runners allowed, and three strikeouts, while an Orlando Arcia off of JP Feyereisen would eventually lead the Braves scoring three total runs off of the LA bullpen. An Ozzie Ablies double in the eighth to score Matt Olson would be the dagger in a 5-2 win for Atlanta. Adam Duvall homered off of Kershaw in this one.
The second game was another close one with the Braves winning 6-4, led by a homer from Olson and two from Marcell Ozuna. Olson added a double and four RBI in the game in total. Chris Sale was very good, nothing 6 IP with only 2 runs allowed and nine strikeouts to get his second win of the season. Lopez would give up a run out of the pen, while Dylan Lee and Joe Jimenez were perfect. Iglesias would give up a solo shot to Teoscar Hernandez, but closed out his fifth save of the season.
Shohei Ohtani would take the mound and put up his best pitching performance on a season with few of them (4.46 ERA), completing six innings and striking out 10 Braves while only allowing a run via Olson homer. The Dodgers bullpen was lights out, only allowed one run with five guys combining to take the mound. Charlie Morton was solid, giving up two runs in five innings, with Tyler Matzek, Aaron Bummer, and Lee all throwing scoreless innings behind him. The game would go into the bottom of the ninth tied at 2-2, but Jiminez would give up a walk off homer to Betts and the Dodgers would take a 3-2 win to save themselves from a sweep in what was a really fun series.
The Braves now stand at 23-11 for the second-best record in baseball (Twins 24-10) and are up 5.5 games over the Philadelphia Phillies in the NL East. Up next in a trip back home for a two-game set against the Boston Red Sox (16-19). Atlanta went 5-1 over the short road trip.
_______________
Also just wanted to say I am having a blast with this game. This has been so fun so far. After playing through the first 10 games myself, I have been playing the first game of every series and then simming the rest. Got one more week of work before a vacation, should make a lot of progress then!