Yasiel Puig returned on Saturday night, giving the Los Angeles Dodgers yet another weapon in their starting lineup. That weapon wasted little time making his presence felt back on the field, going deep and driving in three runs in the Dodgers' 5-1 win over the Atlanta Braves. Puig missed 15 straight games due to an oblique strain, and he added a sacrifice fly in his return.
Alex Wood lasted 5.1 innings and won his sixth straight decision, allowing just one hit and striking out five. He did walk four, but none of those came around to score in his seventh win of the season. This outing kept the Dodgers' starting pitching red hot this weekend, following the efforts of Rich Hill and Clayton Kershaw from the first two games of the series. Hill threw seven scoreless innings on Thursday, while Kershaw, went 7.2 innings of one-run baseball on Friday.
Puig's home run was a two-run shot in the sixth inning, and that was after a sac fly in the second inning in his first at-bat back.
The Braves' struggles continue with this loss, as they have now dropped four in a row and 13 of 18 overall, and they failed to gain a game on the Philadelphia Phillies, who fell once again to the Cincinnati Reds on Saturday. The Braves remain 2.5 games back in the NL East. Their offense was what got them going in the first half of the season, but they have averaged just 2.2 runs in their past 13 losses. They have dropped to fifth in the National League in runs scored.
Johan Camargo's solo home run was the only source of offense for the Braves in Saturday's loss, and that came in the seventh inning.
The Dodgers will go for the sweep of the Braves on the road in the series finale on TBS Sunday afternoon.
Alex Wood lasted 5.1 innings and won his sixth straight decision, allowing just one hit and striking out five. He did walk four, but none of those came around to score in his seventh win of the season. This outing kept the Dodgers' starting pitching red hot this weekend, following the efforts of Rich Hill and Clayton Kershaw from the first two games of the series. Hill threw seven scoreless innings on Thursday, while Kershaw, went 7.2 innings of one-run baseball on Friday.
Puig's home run was a two-run shot in the sixth inning, and that was after a sac fly in the second inning in his first at-bat back.
The Braves' struggles continue with this loss, as they have now dropped four in a row and 13 of 18 overall, and they failed to gain a game on the Philadelphia Phillies, who fell once again to the Cincinnati Reds on Saturday. The Braves remain 2.5 games back in the NL East. Their offense was what got them going in the first half of the season, but they have averaged just 2.2 runs in their past 13 losses. They have dropped to fifth in the National League in runs scored.
Johan Camargo's solo home run was the only source of offense for the Braves in Saturday's loss, and that came in the seventh inning.
The Dodgers will go for the sweep of the Braves on the road in the series finale on TBS Sunday afternoon.
