Freddie Freeman’s three-run homer highlighted a six-run seventh-inning rally and sparked the visiting Los Angeles Dodgers to a 9-0 win over the Atlanta Braves on Monday.
By splitting the four-game series, Los Angeles (89-61) won the season series 5-2 against the Braves. Atlanta (81-69) fell one game behind the New York Mets in the race for the final National League wild card.
Similar to the Sunday game, when Los Angeles scored seven times in the ninth inning of a 9-2 win, the Dodgers broke open a close game on Monday by scoring three runs in the seventh against reliever Daysbel Hernandez and three more against Aaron Bummer, who surrendered the home run to Freeman.
In the big frame, Hernandez walked the bases loaded with one out before Bummer took over. Shohei Ohtani grounded to second baseman Whit Merrifield, whose throw to the plate wasn’t in time to retire Rojas. Mookie Betts increased the lead to 5-0 with a sacrifice fly, and Teoscar Hernandez’s single drove in another run.
Freeman then went deep to left on a 3-1 pitch, his 22nd homer of the year.
Los Angeles’ Yoshinobu Yamamoto made another good start in his return from a strained rotator cuff that kept him sidelined for nearly three months. He pitched four scoreless innings and allowed four hits and two walks while striking out three. Yamamoto has not allowed an earned run in two starts (eight innings) since coming off the injured list.
Yamamoto danced around trouble throughout his outing. He stranded a runner at third in the first, second and fourth innings and was bailed out in the third when speedy Michael Harris II was thrown out at the plate on a strong relay throw by second baseman Enrique Hernandez on Jorge Soler’s double to center.
The winning pitcher was Evan Phillips (4-1), who pitched a perfect fifth inning. The Dodgers also got hitless appearances from Blake Treinen (sixth inning), Daniel Hudson (seventh) and Brent Honeywell (eighth and ninth).
It was the 13th shutout for Los Angeles this year and the 11th time Atlanta has been blanked.
Braves starter Max Fried (9-10) pitched six innings and allowed three runs on two hits and three walks with seven strikeouts.
The Dodgers manufactured a run in the third inning. Rojas walked, went to second on a groundout, stole second and scored on a wild pitch.
Los Angeles added two runs in the fifth. Tommy Edman led off with a ground-rule double and scored on a single by Rojas, who came home on Ohtani’s infield grounder.
–Field Level Media
