LOS ANGELES – Before the game, Braves manager Brian Snitker was asked about playing at Dodger Stadium. He mentioned how the Braves always seem to play tough games here.
Friday was another.
The Braves lost, 4-3, in 11 innings. They are 4-2 in extra innings this season.
Five observations:
1. In the top of the 11th, the Braves had a golden opportunity: They had Ronald Acuña Jr., Ozzie Albies and Austin Riley up versus the Dodgers’ Michael Grove. But they were all retired and couldn’t score the runner who started the inning at second base, which put Jesse Chavez in a tough position in the bottom of the inning.
With runners on the corners and one out, Andy Pages hit a blooper off Chavez that scored the winning run.
The missed opportunity in the top half of the inning loomed large.
“Especially (with a) guy on second, top of the lineup, nobody out, you kind of expect to get that run in. And we didn’t,” Riley said. “Gotta flush it and just get back after it tomorrow.”
In that 11th inning, Acuña popped out. Then Albies and Riley both grounded out.
An inning earlier, the Braves were up a run and turned to closer Raisel Iglesias for the bottom of the 10th. His assignment: Mookie Betts, Shohei Ohtani and Freddie Freeman. And, per extra innings rules, he had a runner at second base.
After getting one out, Iglesias gave up a run-scoring single to Ohtani that tied the game.
In the top of the 10th, the Braves pinch-ran Luke Williams to replace Travis d’Arnaud as the runner who started the inning at second base. Michael Harris II’s flyout to left field allowed Williams to advance to third, and Orlando Arcia’s fly ball to left was deep enough to score Williams.
The Braves have scored three or fewer runs in four of their past six games. They are waiting for that inning, hit or moment that helps them snap out of this for good.
“We’ll be lucky if this is the only time we run into a situation like that, and you have multiple games where you’re not hitting on all cylinders,” Snitker said. “Like I say, if it’s one time all year, it’d be surprising.”
2. Before the entire crowd had settled in for the game, Riley put the Braves on top.
Dodgers starter Gavin Stone left a four-seam fastball too high, and Riley launched it for a solo home run that put the Braves on the board. It would’ve been a two-run shot had Acuña not been picked off of second base before it.
Still, the Braves struck first here.
Riley’s homer traveled 449 feet, which made it the longest home run for any Brave this season. But it was the only run Atlanta scored off Stone over six innings.
“You go through stages like this,” Snitker said. “You’re gonna have to weather the storm, the pitching’s been good, we’ve been in all the games that we’ve played, and just keep going out there, running them out there, and eventually we’re gonna get the offense going again.”
Of Stone’s outing, Riley said: “I think he started locating really well, mixing his pitches. And he’s got stuff. And when you do that, it makes it tough on us. Gotta tip your cap to him for settling in there.”
And Acuña being picked off is one of the little mistakes that can be magnified in tough series versus great teams.
“You wanna use all 27 of the (outs) that you have,” Snitker said. “And it happens. You gotta go pretty good to beat a club like that.”
3. To this point, Acuña hasn’t looked like himself. Usually dangerous, he’s been rather quiet in Atlanta’s lineup.
On Friday, Acuña picked the perfect moment to let everyone know he’s still the reigning National League Most Valuable Player.
With the Braves down a run in the eighth, Acuña hit a game-tying homer off Daniel Hudson. It was an encouraging moment for the superstar who hasn’t yet performed up to his potential.
“It’s always good to hit a home run, and more than anything, it helps give you the confidence to believe in your ability and know what you’re capable of,” Acuña said through interpreter Franco García. “Yeah, it’s just a good way to start feeling better again – that’s how I’ve been feeling lately.”
Something else that should bring optimism: The homer also came on a four-seam fastball. Before Friday, Acuña had hit only .129 against that pitch this season. But he got to a 96-mph four-seamer at the top of the zone and powered it out in left field.
The Braves hope they get more of that in the near future and beyond.
“Yeah, it’s just a question of time,” Acuña said. “Some people, they kind of get ready quicker. But it’s a long season. It’s not about how you start, it’s how you finish.”
4. Braves starter Charlie Morton and Dodgers outfielder Teoscar Hernández battled in the fourth inning. Morton quickly got ahead, 0-2, but Hernández continued fighting.
He fouled off one pitch. Then another. Then a third. He then watched two balls.
Morton’s eighth pitch – a 95 mph four-seam fastball up in the zone but not quite at the top of it – landed in the right-field bleachers.
Morton pitched well, but left with his team trailing by a run. He allowed only two runs over six innings, but the Braves’ offense was quiet again.
5. As Pages rounded third base and headed home, Jarred Kelenic collected and fired. The ball flew on a direct line to catcher Travis d’Arnaud, who tagged out Pages at the plate to end the second inning.
This was not a bad send by Dodgers third base coach Dino Ebel. Most times, the runner would’ve scored on the single that Gavin Lux hit to left field.
Not everyone features Kelenic’s arm, though.
His 95-mph throw home is tied for the sixth-hardest outfield assist of the season. The top spot belongs to Brandon Marsh, who threw a ball 99.3 mph on an outfield assist in April.
But in the 11th, Pages, thrown out at home earlier, came through for the Dodgers.
“He’s a good-looking player,” Snitker said. “I kind of looked him up because I’d never heard of him before. He’s a tooled kid. They do a really good job of identifying players.”
Stat to know
0.5 - With the Braves’ loss and Philadelphia’s win, the Braves are half a game back of the Phillies. The Braves fell out of first place for the first time since after play on April 2, 2023. The next day, they climbed back into first and stayed there for the rest of the season. Until Friday’s loss, the Braves had been in first (including tied for first on opening day) for all but one day since Sept. 28, 2022.
Quotable
“It’s gonna be a dogfight this whole series and it was tonight. Got two more. But they’re a really good club.”-Riley
Up next
On Saturday, Braves right-hander Bryce Elder will pitch against Dodgers right-hander Tyler Glasnow.
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