MLB

Atlanta Braves at Los Angeles Dodgers

· Major League Baseball
Atlanta Braves
90-45, 46-23 Away
Final
4 - 2
Los Angeles Dodgers
83-52, 46-24 Home

Acuña homers in 3rd straight game against Dodgers as Braves win 4-2 in 10 for 6th in a row

Acuña's 454-foot drive to center field came off his bat like a rocket at an astounding 121.2 mph — the hardest-hit ball in the majors this year.

“I never imagined that was going to be the exit velocity on it,” Acuña said through a translator. “But yeah, I hit it hard.”

Bryce Elder pitched six effective innings and the Braves (90-45) won their sixth consecutive game, becoming the first major league club to reach 90 wins this season.

Atlanta will try for a four-game sweep Sunday in this much-anticipated matchup between the top two teams in the National League.

Married north of Los Angeles before Thursday’s game, Acuña once again outshined Dodgers star Mookie Betts in their chase for NL MVP.

With one out in the third inning, Acuña launched a jaw-dropping drive that gave Atlanta a 1-0 lead. It was the 32nd homer this year and third of the series (including a grand slam) for Acuña, the first player in big league history with 30 home runs and 60 stolen bases in a season.

It was also the third-hardest-hit homer and sixth-hardest-hit ball in the majors since Statcast began tracking in 2015.

His teammates joked with him in the dugout about his power.

“They asked if that was all I had, and I said, ‘I think so,’” Acuña said.

Los Angeles tied it 1-all in the bottom half when Austin Barnes doubled on his bobblehead night and scored on Will Smith's double-play grounder.

That's how it stayed until the 10th, when Sean Murphy drew a two-out walk from Alex Vesia (0-5) to put two runners on. Arcia drove the next pitch to left-center to give Atlanta a 4-1 lead.

“I feel I always go out here and every at-bat, focus. And in those situations, do everything I can to help the team win,” Arcia said through a translator.

When asked what he thought of Acuña's homer, no translation was needed.

“Unbelievable,” Arcia said.

Raisel Iglesias allowed Max Muncy's sacrifice fly in the bottom half before finishing for his 28th save. Michael Tonkin (6-2) worked a hitless inning for the win.

“You can’t take too much out of it,” Muncy said. “If we face them in the postseason it’s going to be completely different games. I think we’ve proven that in the past several times against teams we’ve played. It’s an exciting series right now. I know it’s a lot of fun for people to watch it, but at the end of the day, it’s not going to be the same if it’s in the playoffs.”

Betts went 0 for 4 with a walk and scored once. He struck out three times, including with the bases loaded in the fourth when he went down looking.

Los Angeles starter Emmet Sheehan permitted one run in four innings.

Elder worked around four walks and struck out four for the Braves, who have won 20 of 25 overall. The NL East leaders have a seven-game lead over the NL West-leading Dodgers (83-52) for the best record in the National League.

“I thought my stuff was better than it had been the past couple weeks,” Elder said. “Got a little wild a bit but was able to work out of some stuff. Few walks there I’d like to limit. But I gave us a chance. That’s all I’m trying to do.”

90 AND THRIVING

The Braves have won at least 90 games in four of the past five full seasons, not counting the 60-game regular season shortened by the pandemic in 2020.

“It’s how we continue to play really good baseball all year,” manager Brian Snitker said. “It’s been a solid year. Our mission is not over. I’m proud of the guys for how they play every day and how they prepare and the consistency in their work and the energy and everything they do. Haven’t accomplished anything yet.”

TRAINER’S ROOM

Dodgers: DH J.D. Martinez (left groin tightness) took batting practice. He will head to Arizona for a day of work, then will join Triple-A Oklahoma City in Texas on a rehab assignment. He’s expected to return to the Dodgers next weekend in Washington. ... RHP Michael Grove (right lat tightness) will go to Triple-A Oklahoma City and then join the Dodgers next weekend as well. ... RHP Joe Kelly (right forearm inflammation) is expected to go on a rehab assignment soon before rejoining the Dodgers.

UP NEXT

Braves: RHP Charlie Morton (14-10, 3.29 ERA) won four of his five starts in August with a 1.91 ERA during that span. He allowed just one earned run in a six-inning win against Colorado on Tuesday.

Dodgers: RHP Bobby Miller (8-3, 4.00) has allowed four earned runs in back-to-back starts. The rookie had given up a combined two earned runs in his previous three starts over 15 2/3 innings.

How can I watch Atlanta Braves vs. Los Angeles Dodgers?
  • TV Channel: Braves at Dodgers 2022 MLB Baseball, is broadcasted on MLB.tv.
  • Online streaming: Sign up for Fubo.

Matchup Prediction

Dodgers: 47.9%
Braves: 52.1%
*According to ESPN's Basketball Power Index

Scoring Summary

10th Inning Rosario struck out swinging.
10th Inning Smith to second on fielder's indifference.
10th Inning Muncy hit sacrifice fly to center, Betts scored.
10th Inning Smith reached on infield single to second, Betts to third.
10th Inning Freeman flied out to left.
10th Inning Iglesias relieved Tonkin

Statistics

https://a.espncdn.com/combiner/i?img=/i/teamlogos/mlb/500/atl.png&h=100&scale=crop&w=100&location=originATL https://a.espncdn.com/combiner/i?img=/i/teamlogos/mlb/500/lad.png&h=100&scale=crop&w=100&location=originLAD
1 Games Played 1
1 Team Games Played 1
0 Hit By Pitch 0
9 Ground Balls 7
11 Strikeouts 9
4 Runs Batted In 1
0 Sacrifice Hit 0
5 Hits 6
0 Stolen Bases 1
4 Walks 6
0 Catcher Interference 0
4 Runs 2
2 Ground Into Double Play 1
0 Sacrifice Flies 1
33 At Bats 34
2 Home Runs 0
0 Grand Slam Home Runs 0
11 Runners Left On Base 19
0 Triples 0
1 Game Winning RBIs 0
0 Intentional Walks 1
0 Doubles 2
13 Fly Balls 19
0 Caught Stealing 0
151 Pitches 150
0 Games Started 0
0 Pinch At Bats 1
0 Pinch Hits 0
0.0 Player Rating 0.0
1 Is Qualified 1
0 Is Qualified In Steals 1
11 Total Bases 8
37 Plate Appearances 41
324.0 Projected Home Runs 0.0
2 Extra Base Hits 2
2.0 Runs Created 2.7
.152 Batting Average .176
.000 Pinch Hit Average .000
.333 Slugging Percentage .235
.303 Secondary Average .265
.243 On Base Percentage .293
.577 OBP Pct + SLG Pct .528
0.7 Ground To Fly Ball Ratio 0.4
1.8 Runs Created Per 27 Outs 2.4
27.0 Batter Rating 17.0
16.5 At Bats Per Home Run 0.0
0.00 Stolen Base Percentage 1.00
4.08 Pitches Per Plate Appearance 3.66
.182 Isolated Power .059
0.36 Walk To Strikeout Ratio 0.67
.108 Walks Per Plate Appearance .146
.152 Secondary Average Minus Batting Average .088
8.0 Runs Produced 3.0
1.0 Runs Ratio 0.5
0.4 Patience Ratio 0.4
0.2 Balls In Play Average 0.2
74.3 MLB Rating 68.8
0.0 Offensive Wins Above Replacement 0.0
0.0 Wins Above Replacement 0.0

Game Information

Dodger Stadium

Location: Los Angeles, California
Attendance: 51,470 | Capacity:

2024 National League East Standings

TEAM W L PCT GB STRK
Philadelphia 95 67 .586 - W1
Atlanta 89 73 .549 6 W1
New York 89 73 .549 6 L1
Washington 71 91 .438 24 L1
Miami 62 100 .383 33 W4

2024 National League West Standings

TEAM W L PCT GB STRK
Los Angeles 98 64 .605 - W5
San Diego 93 69 .574 5 L1
Arizona 89 73 .549 9 W1
San Francisco 80 82 .494 18 L1
Colorado 61 101 .377 37 L3
Full Standings