TLDR: The Dodgers took a lead into the late innings at Truist Park and still walked away with nothing — Atlanta scratched across the winning run in the bottom of the 9th for a 6-5 final.
+Won the first two meetings of this set head-to-head
−Smith-Shawver still winless with a 5.93 ERA
−Closer Suarez and setup man Jimenez both out
Roki Sasaki (5-5, 4.60 ERA) got the ball for Los Angeles and didn't finish the job. He was pulled from Wednesday's start against Atlanta with a blister on his right middle finger, exiting in the bottom of the 4th while LA still held the lead. AJ Smith-Shawver started opposite him for the Braves, still hunting his first win at 0-0 with a 5.93 ERA and coming off a shaky turn against Minnesota where he lasted just 4.1 innings.
Roki Sasaki
(5-5)·4.60 ERA
Aug 19 @ Rockies
ND
5.0IP
2ER
6K
1BB
99P
08/26 Lineup
AJ Smith-Shawver
(0-2)·7.71 ERA
Aug 19 @ Twins
ND
4.1IP
4ER
3K
3BB
75P
08/26 Lineup
Sasaki's line before the trainers pulled him — 3.1 innings, 4 earned runs, 6 hits, 2 walks, 3 strikeouts — meant the Dodgers bullpen had to cover more than 5 innings, and it's a pen already down Edwin Diaz, Will Klein, Ben Casparius and Brusdar Graterol to injury. Atlanta's relief corps isn't full-strength either, with closer Robert Suarez and setup man Joe Jimenez both out, which made every extra inning in this one a bit of a scramble on both sides.
Truist Park sat at 75 degrees under mostly sunny skies by the finish, a mild night that did nothing to slow either lineup — the two clubs combined for 24 hits and neither committed an error.
This one went the distance tied at 5-5 into the bottom of the 9th before Atlanta pushed across the winning run, the Braves' second straight win over the Dodgers in as many tries this series. That head-to-head sweep-so-far comes on the heels of Atlanta arriving to the set having gone 3-2 over its last 5, while LA showed up 4-1 over its own last 5 before dropping the opener of this set.
For a Dodgers club that had just swept Pittsburgh 3-0 and looked like the best team in the National League on paper, Wednesday was a reminder of how thin the margins get once the bullpen gets taxed and the ace leaves early. Atlanta, patched together in relief or not, found enough offense — 14 hits on the night — to make it hold up.
Dodgers 5, Braves 6: Final Score & Odds Recap — Braves Walk It Off, Sasaki's Blister Costs Dodgers Late
