Los Angeles shortstop Trea Turner and starting pitcher Julio Urias continued their mastery of the Atlanta Braves on Friday by leading the Dodgers to a 4-1 win in the opening game of a three-game series.
Turner went 3-for-5 with his 10th home run, scored two runs and drove in one run to pace the offense. It marked the second straight three-hit game for Turner. In 96 career games against Atlanta, Turner is hitting .319 (128-for-401) with 17 homers, 50 RBIs and 31 stolen bases.
Urias (5-6) improved to 3-0 with a 1.71 ERA in five career appearances and 21 innings against Atlanta. He allowed one run on three hits with two walks and nine strikeouts in six innings.
Evan Phillips pitched a scoreless seventh. Daniel Hudson retired one batter in the eighth when he slipped while trying to field an infield dribbler, injured his left knee and had to leave the game. Brusdar Graterol completed the inning.
Craig Kimbrel worked around a leadoff single to pitch a scoreless ninth and earned his 13th save.
It was the fourth straight win for Los Angeles.
The losing pitcher was Ian Anderson (6-4), who had won his last three decisions. Anderson was knocked out after failing to retire a batter and loading the bases in the fifth inning. He allowed four runs on six hits, four walks and six strikeouts in four-plus innings. It was a disappointing effort for Anderson after he pitched 6 2/3 scoreless innings in his last start.
The Dodgers scored twice in the first inning. Will Smith drove in a run on a sharp single and a sacrifice fly from Justin Turner.
Los Angeles scored two more times in the fifth. Trea Turner homered to right and Freddie Freeman scored on Justin Turner’s fielder’s choice.
Atlanta got a run in the sixth inning on Matt Olson’s bases-loaded sacrifice fly. But the rally ended when Marcell Ozuna struck out with runners on first and second.
The Dodgers lead the season series 3-1. Los Angeles has won every regular-season series with the Braves since 2013.
–Field Level Media
