Home games in May already have been more rewarding for the Los Angeles Dodgers, who are in line for a three-game sweep over the Atlanta Braves when the National League powers meet on Sunday afternoon.
The Dodgers are 2-for-2 in the month at their own ballpark. That total nearly matches their wins over the entirety of the previous homestand, a disappointing 3-6 struggle against three clubs.
In Saturday’s 11-2 victory over the Braves, Max Muncy hit three home runs for the first time in his career. Shohei Ohtani and rookie Andy Pages also went deep, and staff ace Tyler Glasnow had 10 strikeouts over seven innings.
“Tonight was a pretty good indicator of (the offense’s explosiveness),” Muncy said on the SportsNet LA broadcast. “We had a lot of good swings on balls, and on top of that, we worked a lot of good counts (and) got a lot of good pitches to hit. It was an all-around go from our offense, and Glasnow was dominating as always.”
The Dodgers’ bid for a sweep of the Braves rests with left-hander James Paxton (3-0, 3.51 ERA), although the veteran draws a tough assignment opposite Los Angeles-area native Max Fried (2-0, 4.02).
The Dodgers are assessing their rotation even closer with right-hander Walker Buehler set to return from elbow surgery Monday to make his first appearance since 2022. Paxton was brought aboard in the offseason as a steady veteran hand and has been just that despite an MLB-leading 22 walks.
Paxton gave up a season-high four runs on Monday against the Arizona Diamondbacks but picked up the win anyway as the offense bailed him out in an 8-4 victory. The 35-year-old has never faced the Braves in 11 major league seasons and 161 starts.
Fried, on the other hand, knows all about his opponent Sunday. In eight career starts against the Dodgers, the left-hander is 3-2 with a 2.68 ERA. In four starts at Dodger Stadium, he is 2-1 with a 2.57 ERA. And that doesn’t include three separate playoff series against Los Angeles.
Fried enters Sunday’s game off of consecutive brilliant starts. He delivered a three-hit shutout against the Miami Marlins on April 23, followed by six no-hit innings vs. the Seattle Mariners on Monday before the Dodgers dropped a 2-1 decision.
After scoring just three runs in 11 innings of a loss to the Dodgers on Friday, the Atlanta offense struggled to compete with the Los Angeles power display on Saturday.
Austin Riley, though, continued his emergence with two hits and two RBIs against the Mariners on Wednesday, a home run against the Dodgers Friday and an RBI single Saturday.
“Austin was swinging the bat well,” Braves manager Brian Snitker said. “He didn’t have anything to show for it, but he was making good contact. Even before we went on this road trip, he was starting to turn a corner.”
Ronald Acuna Jr. also has emerged from a downturn, and playing in Los Angeles has helped. Acuna’s home run Friday was his fifth in six games at Los Angeles, and he had three hits Saturday.
“It’s just one of those places,” Snitker said of Acuna’s success in Los Angeles. “Sometimes guys see the ball good. I remember years ago, some of our guys would go into Cincinnati and go crazy. Guys have those places.”
–Field Level Media