The Braves squandered opportunity after opportunity, ultimately falling to the Los Angeles Dodgers 3-1 in the series opener at Dodger Stadium. The venue has long been a house of horrors for Atlanta, and Friday night was no exception.
Atlanta managed to string together just five hits, with Ronald Acuña Jr. leading the charge. However, it wasn’t enough to overcome the Dodgers’ stingy pitching and timely hitting.
Walker Buehler was the man on the mound for Los Angeles, and he delivered a solid performance to earn the win. The 28-year-old gave up just two earned runs on four hits while striking out six in six innings of work.
The Braves’ offense was stifled by Buehler and the bullpen, with the team going down quietly in the late innings. They had chances to score in seemingly every inning, but simply couldn’t string together the hits.
Atlanta’s Max Fried started on the mound, giving up two earned runs on four hits while striking out one in six innings of work. However, he didn’t factor into the decision.
The Braves will look to bounce back in the series finale, which is set to get underway tomorrow afternoon. They’ll send Charlie Morton to the mound to face Dodgers’ Clayton Kershaw in a battle of former Cy Young winners.
