Freddie Freeman's Long Ball Lifts Dodgers Past Braves
Despite a shaky outing from Emmet Sheehan, the Los Angeles Dodgers come away with the win against the Atlanta Braves.
The Los Angeles Dodgers had an early season test in May as they welcomed in the red-hot Atlanta Braves for a three-game weekend series. Even with a playoff atmosphere looming all game, the Dodgers were able to pull away with the series-opening win by a 3-1 final. Freeman's centennial blast leads offensive charge There wasn't a barrel full of offense in the series opener for the Dodgers, but their three runs were just enough to pull away.
The Dodgers' lineup had a tough task ahead of them as southpaw Chris Sale was on the mound for Atlanta. To negate that, manager Dave Roberts curated a right-handed-heavy lineup. But it was the lefties that scored all the RBIs.
Kyle Tucker checked off the first run on the board for the Dodgers as he scooped a down-and-away slider for an RBI double. Shohei Ohtani delivered the second run for Los Angeles on an RBI single in the fifth inning, and Freddie Freeman crushed a solo home run in the sixth. That was a special longball for Freeman in the mountain pile of dingers that he's hit as that marked his 100th career home run hit as a member of the Dodgers.
It also was Freeman's first home run in over a month for his team. Emmet Sheehan continues to display inconsistency Entering his seventh start of the season, right-hander Emmet Sheehan has stayed at a blurred middle ground. In 35 2/3 innings pitched this year, Sheehan has clocked in an ERA of 4.