Los Angeles — The Atlanta Braves couldn’t hold their early fire against the Los Angeles Dodgers last night, dropping a 10-3 decision in a game that started tight but unraveled late. Under the California sun at Dodger Stadium, the May 4 matchup saw both teams trading blows before the Dodgers’ bats erupted, sealing a decisive victory in front of a roaring crowd.
The Braves struck first, jumping out to a quick lead in the second inning. Austin Riley, Atlanta’s third baseman, crushed a solo home run, his towering shot cutting through the afternoon haze to give the Braves a 1-0 edge. The hit, officially measured at 426 feet, was Riley’s latest display of power in a season that’s seen him anchor Atlanta’s lineup. The Braves tacked on another run in the third when Ozzie Albies doubled and later scored on a Ronald Acuña Jr. single, making it 2-0.
But the Dodgers, no strangers to comeback baseball, answered swiftly. In the bottom of the third, Mookie Betts laced a single, setting the stage for Freddie Freeman’s two-run homer that knotted the game at 2-2. The former Brave, now a Dodger darling, got a mixed chorus of cheers and boos from the crowd, a nod to his Atlanta roots. Los Angeles didn’t stop there. Max Muncy’s sacrifice fly in the fourth pushed the Dodgers ahead 3-2, and they never looked back.
Atlanta’s pitching, led by starter Bryce Elder, started to wobble as the game wore on. Elder, who’d kept the Dodgers in check early, gave way in the fifth after a string of hits. The Dodgers pounced on the Braves’ bullpen, with Will Smith and Teoscar Hernández delivering key hits in a five-run sixth inning that blew the game open at 8-2. By the time the dust settled, Los Angeles had plated 10 runs on 12 hits, with Freeman and Betts each finishing 2-for-4.
The Braves managed a lone run in the seventh when Marcell Ozuna singled in Albies, but it was too little, too late. Atlanta’s offense, which had shown early spark, went quiet against Dodgers relievers, who mowed through the lineup to close out the game. Ryan Yarbrough earned the win for Los Angeles, tossing three scoreless innings, while Elder took the loss for Atlanta.
Defensively, both teams were crisp early, with Acuña robbing a potential extra-base hit in right field and Dodgers shortstop Miguel Rojas turning a slick double play. But as the score tilted, Atlanta’s fielding grew sloppy, with a throwing error by shortstop Orlando Arcia costing them a run in the sixth.
The game, part of a three-game series, marked the Dodgers’ second straight win over the Braves after a 2-1 squeaker on May 3. With the series finale looming today, Atlanta’s looking to salvage a split before heading back east. The Braves, sitting at 19-13, remain in the thick of the NL East race, while the Dodgers, now 22-12, keep pace in the loaded NL West.
Official box score: Dodgers 10, Braves 3. Attendance: 48,763. Game duration: 3 hours, 12 minutes.