Dodgers 6, Braves 5: Shohei Ohtani walks it off on his bobblehead night as Dodgers stay perfect despite error-filled disaster

Chad Moriyama 04/02/2025 Game Recaps 24 Comments

The Dodgers came into today looking for a sweep before a day off, and instead they played like they were only looking forward to that day in a mess of a game that included a litany of fielding and baserunning errors on their part. Yet it didn’t cost them their perfect start as the bullpen bought enough time for the offense to slowly chip away, and Max Muncy tied it late to setup Shohei Ohtani walking it off dramatically in a 6-5 victory.

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Things got off to a rough start for Blake Snell and the Dodgers in the 1st, most of which wasn’t his fault. Yes, he alternated an out and a walk for the first four batters to put two on, but then seemed to get the third out on a grounder to Muncy. Unfortunately, Muncy threw the Bryan De La Cruz grounder into the ground and Enrique Hernandez was unable to handle it, leading to Marcell Ozuna (the first walk) scoring.

That was immediately followed by a Nick Allen double to plate Matt Olson (the second walk) before thankfully also ending the inning at the plate. Braves lead 2-0.

The 2nd started just as bad as the 1st ended, as a grounder to Muncy resulted in another error. That would prove costly after a wild pitch advanced him, a bunt single cornered the runners with one out, and Ozzie Albies hit a flyball to deep center that should’ve been caught by Andy Pages but clanged off his glove for a “double” to plate another run. After a walk loaded the bases, Snell got a second out and was on the verge of escaping disaster but Olson doubled to left to plate two and put the Braves up 5-0.

After a quiet 3rd, Snell allowed a walk and single with two outs in the 4th that extended his inning and essentially knocked him out of the game. He wasn’t sharp, but as the unearned runs show, he certainly didn’t deserve his fate: 4 IP, 5 H, 5 R (0 ER), 4 BB, 2 K, 80 Pitches.

A 5-0 hole? Sounds familiar.

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On the other side was Bryce Elder, who started well with a quiet 1st, but the Dodgers began to chip away at the deficit in the 2nd. A Michael Conforto walk was cashed in by power hitter Tommy Edman‘s fourth dinger of the year to cut the deficit to 5-2.

After the homer, Elder rebounded with six outs in a row, but Conforto ended that emphatically in the 4th with his first homer of the year and first as a Dodger. Stay hot. 5-3.

A single and a walk followed with still just one out, so there was a chance for more, but Elder wiggled out of the situation to end his outing and maintain the Braves lead.

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The pen battle kicked off in the 5th.

Ben Casparius started with a 10-pitch 5th inning that included two strikeouts, but the 6th begun with a walk and two singles to load the bases with nobody out. It looked like the Braves were about to blow the game open, but Casparius bore down against the heart of the lineup, inducing two pop-outs and a strikeout to escape.

Helping to keep the deficit the same were Kirby Yates and Jack Dreyer. Yates struck out two in the 7th during an inning that included Edman clanging a pickoff throw for another error, and Dreyer took just eight pitches to get through the 8th, which provided the Dodgers with the option to leave him in for another should they come back.

About that.

With the other pen, Enyel De Los Santos took over in the 5th and immediately hit Pages and gave up a Shohei single to corner the runners with nobody out. However, Mookie Betts lined a ball back to De Los Santos and Pages got caught off third for a double play. Chance wasted.

Pierce Johnson then entered in the 6th, issuing a lead-off walk to Conforto before getting an out. The Dodgers then seemed to start a rally when Edman singled to right, but Conforto was thrown out easily at third for the second out. Dylan Lee then entered for the final out and got it. Another chance wasted.

Lee continued in the 7th, getting the first two outs but then giving up a blooper to Ohtani. Enter Daysbel Hernandez, who got a flyout to end the frame. He continued in the 8th, getting an out but then giving up a single to Conforto and throwing two balls to Will Smith. Well, Brian Snitker saw enough and turned to closer Raisel Iglesias mid-count, but it didn’t work as he walked Smith anyway to put a pair on. After a high chopper led to the second out but also advanced both runners, it was on the struggling Max Muncy. Despite getting down 1-2 in the count, he came up huge, lining a two-run double into the gap to make it 5-5.

Things almost got even more dramatic as Enrique skied a ball down the line in left that looked like it might’ve been a homer, but it curled just foul and then he made the final out of the frame.

Breathe.

Now in a tie game, Dreyer continued on in the 9th and continued to impress, setting the side down in order despite being asked to work multiple innings.

Iglesias also continued in the 9th … fortunately for Shohei Ohtani, who walked it off on his bobblehead night because … well, of course he did, right?

Main character.

By the way, a new celly has arrived.

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8-0. Decent.

The Dodgers will now take a day off to travel to the East Coast for a three-game set with the Phillies. They’ll resume on Friday at 12:45 PM HT/3:45 PM PT/6:45 PM ET on Apple TV+ with Yoshinobu Yamamoto facing Jesus Luzardo.

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