The Atlanta Braves encountered the Los Angeles Dodgers in the final game of the series, which seemed heavily skewed in their favor. The match featured two-time Cy Young Award recipient Blake Snell pitching for the Dodgers opposite Bryce Elder, an injured player brought up from a replacement role, who has had difficulties since June 2023.
It turned out that each starting pitcher managed to stay in the game for only half of its duration, with both lasting exactly 4.0 innings.
For their part at bat, the Braves were the first team to step up and, as they did last night, capitalized on an error to grab a 1-0 advantage. Both Ozuna and Olson managed walks, enabling Ozuna to cross home plate thanks to a throwing miscue by Max Muncy. In his ongoing bid for the starting role over Orlando Arcia, Nick Allen smashed a double extending their lead to 2-0 prior to the conclusion of the half-inning.
In his comeback appearance, Bryce Elder asserted himself right away in the first inning. He induced groundouts from Shohei Ohtani and Mookie Betts before striking out Teoscar Hernández with a sinking fastball that caught the edge of the strike zone.
The Braves kept the momentum going in the second. Newly acquired Stuart Fairchild reached on an ugly error by Max Muncy (his second in as many innings) to get the ball rolling. He then moved to second on a wild pitch followed by a bunt single from Eli White. Ozzie Albies then came through in a big way with a double to make the score 3-0. Ozuna then walked to load the bases. Austin Riley struck out, but fortunately Matt Olson had a double of his own to plate two and make the score 5-0. Bryan De La Cruz almost came through with a 105.5 MPH rocket off the bat, but it was hit right at Mookie Betts.
In the second inning, Bryce Elder had less luck. He began by walking Michael Conforto. Although he managed to induce a flyout from Will Smith, Tommy Edman followed with a home run to center field, extending their lead to 5-2. Fortunately for them, Elder recovered and induced consecutive groundouts after that.
In the third inning, the Braves were unable to score as they went down 1-2-3. Elder returned to pitch the third and appeared more composed. He struck out Andy Pages and followed up with a flyout against Ohtani and a groundout against Betts.
The Braves seemed poised to make some progress in the fourth inning. Following a White flyout and an Albies strikeouts, Ozuna secured another walk, which was then followed by a Riley base hit. Nonetheless, Olson failed to step up as the hero once more, ending his turn with a groundout. This sequence proved sufficient to conclude Snell’s outing. In summary, Snell concluded the game having allowed five runs along with four walks. Notably, despite these outcomes, all five runs remained unearned due to the occurrence of errors throughout the play.
It was evident that Bryce Elder was tiring in the fourth inning. Although he managed to strike out Hernández once more, things took a turn for the worse thereafter. Conforto sent a solo home run flying, making the score 5-3. Following this, Elder yielded a single to Will Smith and walked Tommy Edman. Fortunately, he could retire the subsequent batters. By the end of the fourth, Elder had concluded his evening having allowed three hits, three earned runs, issued three walks, and recorded six strikeouts.
In the fifth inning, the Braves experienced another three-up-three-down situation as De La Cruz and Nick Allen both struck out consecutively. When Enyel De Los Santos took over pitching duties, he immediately hit the first batter faced. However, he managed to recover from this setback when, despite Ohtani following with a base hit, Betts subsequently grounded into a double play after hitting a liner right back to De Los Santos. The ball was thrown to Riley, resulting in Pages being tagged out at third base. Finally, De Los Santos ended the inning by striking out Hernández.
During the sixth inning, Chadwick Tromp began with a walk after Snell had been taken out of the game. Eli White was substituted with Michael Harris at that point. Harris followed with a single, putting runners on base without any outs recorded yet. Next, Albies hit another single, filling the bases still without recording an out. So, what happened here—did the Braves manage to score during this turn at bat? Not quite. Ozuna flew out to center field, Austin Riley struck out, and Matt Olson’s attempt ended as he popped up near shortstop.
Pierce Johnson subsequently entered the game for the Braves. He issued a walk to the initial batter he faced but followed that with a strikeout of Will Smith. Next up, Tommy Edman smacked a single towards Stuart Fairchild, who responded with a spectacular glove-work throwing from the outfield to nab the runner at third base. The inning concluded when Dylan Lee took over pitching duties and recorded another strikeout.
Previously with the Braves, pitcher Kirby Yates entered the game for the Dodgers in the seventh inning. Once more, the Braves aimed to secure additional runs. Nick Allan got a single and subsequently swiped second base. He advanced further to third when there was an error during a pick-off attempt. Nonetheless, he couldn’t manage to cross home plate from his position at third.
Dylan Lee remained on the mound for the seventh inning. During this period, he managed to achieve one strikeout and one fly out prior to Ohtani getting a hit. Subsequently, Dylan Lee was substituted with Daysbel Hernández, who induced Betts into recording another fly out.
In the eighth inning, the Braves failed to make any offensive progress. After Teoscar Hernández popped out, Conforto managed a single. Manager Brian Snitker responded by bringing in Raisel Iglesias. However, this decision didn’t pay off as expected. Next, Will Smith drew a walk. Then, Tommy Edman advanced the baserunners with a groundout. To recover from his previous mistakes, Max Muncy hit a crucial two-run double, tying the score at 5-5. Fortunately for Atlanta, Iglesias struck out the next batter, limiting additional harm and ending the frame.
The score is currently even in the bottom of the ninth inning with the Braves having key batters due up, yet Austin Riley and Matt Olson failed to deliver. Both players hit ground balls before Jarred Kelenic fanned swinging to close out the top half of the ninth frame.
Despite any rationale, Brian Snitker decided to keep Raisel Iglesias in the contest even though he had faced difficulties in the preceding frame. Although Iglesias managed to strike out Andy Pages, Shohei Ohtani emerged as the key figure for the Dodgers when he hit a solo home run, securing victory with a walk-off in the ninth inning. This loss marks the Atlanta Braves' seventh consecutive defeat at the beginning of this season.
The team displayed some promising moments during the game, but failing to score when they had the bases loaded and no outs with their strongest hitters at bat will certainly be frustrating.
The Braves have a day off tomorrow, however, they will kick off their home schedule against the Marlins this Friday at 7:15 PM Eastern Daylight Time. Here’s hoping they secure their inaugural victory for the new season.