“Woah” – it’s an appropriate reaction to what the Braves did in the series-opener. They entered as a mediocre team who was on a three-game skid, and yet, they came out playing like elites and eventually won, 6-3, putting an end to the Dodgers’ 11-game winning streak.
Johan Camargo made a great play at the bottom of the ninth with two outs and the tying run on the plate.
The revived confidence of the Braves should give a big boost for the second meeting this Friday night. Brandon Phillips and Ender Inciarte, who are collectively hitting .415 in the past week (22-for-53), will look to remain as the most reliable batters of the team.
Jaime Garcia (3-7, 4.33 ERA) will be the starter on the mound. He had a good outing last July 16th against the Arizona Diamondbacks, as he struck out seven and only gave up one run across seven innings. The Dodgers’ current batters are 14-for-46 against him all-time (.304).
This might be his last start as a Brave, as he is rumored to be attracting plenty of clubs now that he’s in the trading block.
The Dodgers had no business losing to a team like the Braves, but they are fine – way, way fine. It was just their fifth loss in 35 games, and should be on their way for another big winning streak.
The undefeated Alex Wood (11-0, 1.56 ERA) will be the team’s starter. His impressive campaign will look to pound the Braves next, which should be an intriguing sight since it’s his former team (who surprisingly traded him in 2015) and he has yesterday’s streak-snapping loss as an added motivation. Wood has 14 Ks and zero allowed runs in his last two starts (13 innings).
As for the offense, it should make its comeback soon enough. Last night’s dud (7-for-34, .205) may happen again at some point, but considering how smooth they’ve been all season, it won’t occur on back-to-back nights.
Writer’s Prediction
The Dodgers avenge the loss, 6-2.
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