Right-hander Bobby Miller limited the Atlanta Braves to one run in his major league debut and catcher Will Smith drove in three runs to help the visiting Los Angeles Dodgers to an 8-1 win on Tuesday.
The Dodgers have won the first two games of the three-game series between the leaders of the N.L. West and N.L. East.
Miller (1-0), the team’s first-round draft pick in 2020, allowed a lone run in the first inning, but never faltered. He pitched five innings and gave up one run on four hits with one walk and five strikeouts.
Smith went 3-for-5 with a double. He is batting .318 (21-for-66) in May and lifted his season average to .310.
The Dodgers bullpen finished the game with scoreless innings from Yency Almonte, Brusdar Graterol, Evan Phillips and Victor Gonzalez. Atlanta managed only one hit against Los Angeles relievers.
Spencer Strider (4-2) took the loss. He pitched six innings and allowed a season-high-tying four runs (two earned) on five hits with three walks and 11 strikeouts, his fourth double-digit strikeout game of the season.
The Dodgers scored a run in the first when Mookie Betts doubled and came home on Smith’s single.
The Braves got the run back in the bottom of the first on Austin Riley’s RBI double. It was the 21st time Atlanta has scored in the first inning, producing a major league-leading 42 first-inning runs.
Los Angeles took a 4-1 lead with a three-run rally in the second. Former Braves Jason Heyward hit a solo homer, his fifth, and the Dodgers added two unearned runs after a fielding error by first baseman Matt Olson on Smith’s bases-loaded double.
The Dodgers tacked on a run in the seventh when Max Muncy singled home Betts, who scored for the third time.
Los Angeles put it away with three runs in the ninth off Michael Tonkin. Freddie Freeman singled to extend his hitting streak to 13 games, Muncy walked and J.D. Martinez hit a three-run homer. Martinez, who homered twice on Monday, has nine this season.
–Field Level Media
