*Photo from AP News*
Welcome to Los Angeles, Freddie Freeman, here's a series win. Freeman homered against his old team, Edwin Rios homered, and the Los Angeles Dodgers defeated the Atlanta Braves with a 5-1 victory on Wednesday afternoon in Los Angeles.
After departing in free agency over the winter, Freeman took his old team deep in his new home, helping the Dodgers take two out of 3 games from the Braves in the process. But he wasn't the only one. With Andrew Heaney on the IL, the Dodgers needed a starter, and a quality start at that. The man who gave it to them was Tony Gonsolin.
Dodgers manager Dave Roberts said that "Tony was really good. Very helpful, much needed. All three outings have been good. He was really efficient, inducing three double plays, which is huge. Used his fastball the right way and his breaking stuff was on. He did a heck of a job."
The Dodgers started the scoring early, with Freeman cranking a two run home run to right field in the bottom of the first inning, putting the Dodgers ahead 2-0 early in the game. It stayed that way until the 5th inning, when Rios hit a solo home run to right field as well, making it a 3-0 lead for the Dodgers after 5 innings.
One inning later, in the 6th, the Dodgers opened up a 4-0 lead, when Cody Bellinger hit an RBI triple, scoring Will Smith. In the 7th, Mookie Betts came around to score on an RBI single from Justin Turner, putting the Dodgers ahead 5-0. In the 9th, Marcell Ozuna ended the shutout bid with an RBI double that scored Freeman's replacement, Matt Olson.
Gonsolin had been flirting with a no hitter, but he'll ultimately take the win regardless. He allowed no runs on one hit and 3 walks in 6 innings pitched, improving to 1-0 on the season. Brusdar Graterol pitched a scoreless 7th inning with one strikeout, followed by two shutout innings from Mitch White to shut it down.
Roberts said that "Tony, not only preventing runs but also being able to take down a big portion of the game. Now where we’re at knowing we built him up, you don’t necessarily need that piggyback anymore and Gonsolin kind of can be more of a conventional starter, which is great."
It was Charlie Morton who got the loss for the Braves, dropping to 1-2 after allowing 4 runs on 6 hits and 3 walks, striking out 4 hitters in 5 1/3 innings pitched. Collin McHugh allowed one run in 1 1/3 innings after Morton departed. Tyler Thornburg and Will Smith each had scoreless outings in relief.
Braves manager Brian Snitker said of the loss that "I would have loved to have won today and took a series and had a winning road trip. It’s like I’ve always said. We haven’t even scratched the surface of what we’re capable of yet. Guys are hanging in there and working. That’s all you can ask for. We’ll be fine. It’s a good team."
Up next, the Dodgers start a series with their division rival San Diego Padres on Friday night, with Julio Urias to get the series opening start. The Braves start a weekend series with division rivals in the Miami Marlins on Friday night, with Kyle Wright lined up to start.
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