Braves 4, Dodgers 3: Comeback falls short as chances are missed late to snap 7-game win streak

The seven-game win streak of the Dodgers was at risk early after a couple of early homers, but they clawed their way back against the Braves to make it a tight affair. They had great chances to at least tie things up late, but couldn’t cash in as their streak was snapped in a 4-3 loss.

======

Dustin May got off to a great start in 2025 but has run into a rough patch of late as his velocity decrease and trimmed arsenal seem to be catching up with him a bit.

Today was no exception, as a lead-off walk and an Austin Riley homer put the Braves on the board for a 2-0 lead in the 1st.

He was bailed out in the 2nd by Michael Conforto, as after a lead-off single and steal, Conforto robbed a double with a sprawling catch.

Unfortunately, there was no such luck in the 3rd as a lead-off single and then another Riley homer made it 4-0 Braves.

May did manage to give them innings, as he worked around a single and walk later in the 3rd, got a clean 4th, only hit a batter in the 5th, and got two outs in the 6th before exiting.

Ended up better than I thought it was gonna be: 5.2 IP, 5 H, 4 R, 2 BB, 6 K, 97 Pitches.

Jack Dreyer then finished the inning, giving up a single but then getting the last out of the 6th.

——

On the other side of the coin was Bryce Elder, who was surprisingly dominant against a hot Dodgers lineup early on. He set down the first eight Dodgers he saw before amusingly giving up a double to Austin Barnes. Elder also issued a walk following that, but got out of the 3rd without damage.

The Dodgers started to chip away in the 4th, as a one-out single from Teoscar Hernandez was followed by a Max Muncy double that scored him to cut the deficit to 4-1.

Elder navigated past that in the 4th and then got a clean 5th, but he began the 6th with a walk to Mookie Betts and a Freddie Freeman single that cornered the runners and knocked him out of the game.

After the first out, Freddie got to second on a wild pitch, and a hard-hit Muncy groundout plated a second run to make it 4-2 even though nothing more followed in the chance.

In the 7th, Miguel Rojas pinch-hit for Conforto as Brian Snitker made a questionable lefty-righty matchup change, and he promptly homered to left for his first of the year to make it 4-3. Again though, the Braves were able to work around a double to prevent disaster.

Back to the Dodgers pen, Luis Garcia got a couple outs in the 7th before giving up a single and giving way to Anthony Banda, who got an exciting final out.

Banda continued in the 8th, giving up just a two-out single which he then picked off. Unfortunately, that was the last time the Braves hit.

That’s because after getting nothing in the 8th, the Dodgers really had a great chance to tie things up in the 9th. A lead-off single from Andy Pages led to Hyeseong Kim pinch-running for him, stealing second (his MLB first), and then getting to third on a strikeout in the dirt, showcasing his baserunning prowess. However, back-to-back strikeouts ended the game.

0-for-10 with RISP is not gonna do it.

======

NL WestRecordGB
Dodgers23-11
Padres22-110.5
Giants22-131.5

The Dodgers will now travel for another series against the Marlins, this one a three-game set in Miami starting at 12:40 PM HT/3:40 PM PT/6:40 PM ET. It’ll be Ben Casparius in a quasi-starter bulk role facing off against the struggling Sandy Alcantara.

About Chad Moriyama

Avatar photo
"A highly rational Internet troll." - Los Angeles Times