The Dodgers continue their lengthy road trip with a three-game series at Truist Park on Friday. It will mark the return of the Dodgers to Atlanta where they were eliminated in the playoffs last October in Game 6 of the NLCS. Friday’s series opener will also be the first time Freddie Freeman, former Braves franchise player, returns to play first base at Truist Park in Dodger Blue.
Back in April, Freeman hit his first home run as a Dodger on his first at-bat against his former team. I couldn’t have written the script better myself. The Dodgers won the series at Dodger Stadium against the Braves with two victories out of the three games.
Both teams come into the series on a winning note. The Braves just walked off with two wins against the Giants to take two of three in the series. They come into the series having won 17 of their last 20 games. The Dodgers remain undefeated on their current road trip. The Boys in Blue broke out to a tune of 26 runs in the sweep of the lowly last-place Cincinnati Reds.
Julio Urías (4-6, 2.56 ERA, 1.024 WHIP) looks to build on his last two quality starts. He struck out 16 and allowed two earned runs on five hits in his last 12 innings of work. The left-hander has had success against the Braves in his career in the regular season. He’s 2-0 with a 1.80 ERA with 14 strikeouts in four career games (two starts) and 15 career innings vs. Atlanta.
In the postseason, the story is much different. No one can forget last October when the Dodgers were up by two runs and needed six final outs to win Game 2 of the NLCS. Dave Roberts brought in Urías (Game 4 starter) out of the bullpen to everyone’s surprise.
As we know, the decision totally backfired. Urías served up two runs and allowed the Braves to tie up the game. The Braves took advantage of the poor managerial decision and ended up winning the game in the 9th inning with a walk-off hit.
For the other side, Ian Anderson (6-3, 4.35 ERA, 1.393 WHIP) toes the rubber for Atlanta Friday evening in the opener. The Braves have won five straight when Anderson starts. In his career, the right-hander is 0-1 with a 8.31 ERA in one start against the Dodgers. Last June 4, Anderson allowed four runs on one hit and three walks in 4 1⁄3 innings for the loss.
It wasn’t all Anderson’s fault. The Braves were cruising through 4 innings and were up 1-0. Anderson hadn’t allowed a hit. The Braves then had one of their sloppiest innings that I can recall.
With one out in the 5th, Anderson walked Chris Taylor. Gavin Lux followed with a double, A.J. Pollock hit a chopper toward third baseman Austin Riley, who fielded the ball and tried to throw home to get Taylor. The ball hit Taylor’s back, and the Dodgers tied the game. Then Urías bunted. Anderson tried to flip the ball to home, but it was too late.
The Dodgers scored eight runs on three hits in the 5th with five walks and two botched fielder’s choice plays. Anderson was charged with four runs.
Urías won’t be bunting now that there’s the universal DH, but there’s sure to be plenty of action between these two top NL teams in the much-anticipated showdown.
The Dodgers recalled RHP Reyes Moronta from Triple-A Oklahoma City and placed LHP Andrew Heaney on the injured list with left shoulder inflammation.
— Los Angeles Dodgers (@Dodgers) June 24, 2022
Dodgers – Braves lineup
| Pos | Braves | Pos | Dodgers |
|---|---|---|---|
| Pos | Braves | Pos | Dodgers |
| RF | Acuña Jr. | SS | T. Turner |
| SS | Swanson | 1B | Freeman (L) |
| 3B | Riley | C | Smith |
| 1B | Olson (L) | 3B | Muncy (L) |
| DH | Ozuna | RF | Taylor |
| C | Contreras | DH | J. Turner |
| LF | Duvall | 2B | Lux (L) |
| 2B | Arcia | CF | Bellinger (L) |
| CF | Harris II (L) | RF | Thompson |
Game info
- Teams: Dodgers (43-25) vs. Braves (41-30)
- Location: Truist Park
- First pitch: 4:20 p.m. PT
- TV: SportsNet LA
George is Digismak’s reported cum editor with 13 years of experience in Journalism