The Los Angeles Dodgers lost the series finale to the Atlanta Braves on Wednesday, courtesy of a walk-off sacrifice fly.
The Dodgers and Braves battled all the way through, but the Dodgers struggled to hit with runners in scoring position, while the Braves took advantage of their minimal hits. The Dodgers moved to 31-20 on the year, but took the series over Atlanta two games to one.
The Rundown
The game was a pitchers duel for the first three innings between Tony Gonsolin and Bryce Elder, as we were scoreless heading into the fourth.
In the bottom of the fourth inning, Matt Olson broke the scoreless tie and ended Tony Gonsolin’s perfect game bid with one swing of the bat, an absolute missile to right field to give the Braves a 1-0 lead.
It didn’t take long for the Dodgers to respond, though.
Mookie Betts led off the top of the fifth inning with a laser of his own to left field, and suddenly, we were right back in a tied ballgame.
But again, the response came quick. In the bottom of the fifth inning, it was a Marcell Ozuna two-run home run that put the Braves right back up. And of note, he seemed to clip Will Smith with his backswing… again.
Tony Gonsolin’s night ended in the bottom of the sixth inning with two outs. However, he made some incredible history, becoming the first Dodger starter since May 13 to pitch more than five innings in a game.
The Dodgers bats struggled with runners in scoring position for most of the way, but in the eighth inning, they came alive.
A Will Smith single and J.D. Martinez double allowed Jason Heyward to bring in the Dodgers’ second run of the game on an RBI groundout. But with Martinez on third and two outs, it was the rookie Miguel Vargas coming through in a big way, hitting a ground-rule double to left field to tie the game back at three apiece.
The Dodgers stranded runners on the corners in the top of the ninth inning, as Max Muncy popped out to shallow left field with two outs.
And then, in the bottom of the ninth inning, a Matt Olson leadoff double proved to be trouble.
Ozzie Albies ended up being the hero, hitting a deep sacrifice fly off RHP Phil Bickford to right field to end the game.
The Dodgers scored just three runs on 12 hits, while the Braves got four runs on five hits.
Up Next
The Dodgers have a much-needed day off on Thursday after playing 13 games in 13 days. Then, on Friday, the team begins a three-game series with the best team in baseball, the Tampa Bay Rays, at Tropicana Field.
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