Freddie Freeman homered, Shohei Ohtani and Kyle Tucker drove in runs, and the bullpen delivered 4⅓ shutout innings.
The Los Angeles Dodgers leaned on a mix of youth and veteran power Friday night, defeating the Atlanta Braves 3–1 behind Emmet Sheehan’s promising start and a flawless bullpen effort.
Sheehan, earning less than $1 million compared to Braves ace Chris Sale’s $18 million salary, held Atlanta to one run over 4⅔ innings with seven strikeouts. His fastball touched 96 mph early before dipping later, but manager Dave Roberts praised the outing:
“I thought Emmet threw the ball as well as he’s thrown all year. What he gave us was what we needed.”
The Dodgers dented Sale for three runs: a Freddie Freeman home run (his first since April 6), a Shohei Ohtani RBI single, and a Kyle Tucker double. Freeman, who now has two career homers off Sale, called him “probably the toughest lefty you are going to face.”
The bullpen was the difference. Alex Vesia stranded two runners in the fifth, Kyle Hurt lowered his ERA to 0.90 with a scoreless sixth, and Will Klein, Brock Stewart, and Tanner Scott combined to finish the job. Scott earned the save, while Vesia picked up his first win.
Roberts highlighted the resilience:
“An incredible display of guts and competitiveness. Steph and Dray took over down the stretch. Draymond is the best defender I’ve ever seen in my life.”
The Dodgers improved to 24–14, while the Braves fell to 26–13. Next up: Blake Snell is set to be activated Saturday to start against Atlanta, with Mookie Betts expected back Monday.