Braves Drop Finale to Dodgers for First Sweep of Season

The Atlanta Braves are leaving LA with a two-game deficit in the NL East after their 1-5 road trip

Los Angeles Dodgers designated hitter Shohei Ohtani hit two home runs on Sunday afternoon to power the Dodgers to a sweep of the Atlanta Braves in Dodger Stadium. / Kiyoshi Mio-USA TODAY Sports

The Atlanta Braves fell victim to the longball and dropped the final game of the series 5-1 versus the Los Angeles Dodgers, getting swept for the first time on the 2024 season.

Here’s what you need to know about from the contest.

Max Fried’s mistakes were punished

The Braves starter entered this game on a roll - in his last four outings, he’s 2-0 with a 1.37 ERA. He didn’t pitch poorly here, giving up only four hits and three walks in his seven innings. 

The mistakes he did make, though, were capitalized on by Los Angeles. 

After a leadoff walk to Mookie Betts to open the game, Shohei Ohtani hit a two-run homer, his 2nd of the series, on an elevated curveball. Teoscar Hernández homered in the 6th on a center-cut curveball - the target was low, but Fried left it a bit up - bringing in two more runs. 

Fried ended up with four runs allowed across the seven innings, both coming on two-run homers. His stuff wasn’t bad today - he struck out seven, with nine whiffs and a 30% CSW in his 108 pitches (67 strikes), but LA didn’t miss the mistakes. 

This offense needs to get right

The Braves put up only one run on five hits tonight, with two of the hits coming from Marcell Ozuna (including a solo homer). They’ve finished this six-game road trip with a total of fourteen runs on twenty-nine hits, including just eight extra-base hits, a batting average of only .147. 

We’ve talked about the power outage for this team, and that’s still an issue, but the quality starting pitching that Atlanta’s faced means they need to rally and figure out a path forward. 

Easier said than done against the Red Sox - Boston’s staff, entering Sunday’s action, has an MLB-best 2.62 ERA.  

Sean Murphy might be back soon

Atlanta’s All-Star catcher has been out since straining an oblique on Opening Day....but there’s good news on this front. He’s been cleared to not only swing a bat and hit off a tee, but is doing it on back-to-back days, a critical progression in his rehab. Per reports from the beat on-site in Los Angeles, the catcher’s rehab should begin ramping up towards a possible return, although the team’s been reluctant to put a date on his activation off of the injured list.    

What’s next for the Atlanta Braves?

The Braves are off on Monday before starting an abbreviated two-game set against the Boston Red Sox in Truist Park. The Braves have announced Reynaldo Lòpez (2-1, 1.50 ERA) and Chris Sale (4-1, 3.44 ERA)  as their starters for the two games, while Boston’s countering with Kutter Crawford (2-1, 1.56 ERA) but has yet to announce a game two starter. 

This series will also mark the return of traded infielder Vaughn Grissom, who was sent to the Red Sox in the deal that added Sale to Atlanta’s rotation. The infielder, who opened the season on the injured list due to a strained hamstring, was activated and has gone 1-8 with a run and an RBI in his first two games for Boston.