This is read by an automated voice. Please report any issues or inconsistencies here.
See more from the L.A. Times in Google Search. Set us as preferred
ATLANTA — The Dodgers’ recent offensive woes were punctuated Thursday by a complete-game shutout by Braves left-hander Chris Sale.
“We ran into a buzz saw,” manager Dave Roberts said after the 1-0 loss.
The Dodgers (80-54), who’ve been swept three times this month, are clinging to a one-game lead over the Braves (79-55) for the second-best record in the National League. They are three games behind the Brewers (83-51) for the best record in baseball.
“I wish we’d played better,” Roberts said. “I wish we’d have won the game. I wish we’d won the series. It didn’t happen. But right now, there’s nothing we can do but just go out there and keep trying to get better and win a baseball game [Friday].”
What was expected to be a pitchers’ duel between Dodgers rotation leader Yoshinobu Yamamoto and Sale lived up to the hype.
Tarik Skubal is set to start Friday against his former team, weeks after getting traded to the Dodgers at the deadline. “For me, the game is always the same game,” Skubal said.
Yamamoto gave up a home run to Drake Baldwin on his first pitch, but he quickly settled in and gave up just three more hits while striking out eight over 6⅓ innings.
Sale was even better. He mowed down the Dodgers with 11 strikeouts, limiting them to just five hits in nine innings.
The Dodgers went up against an even crisper version of Sale. His velocity was up overall, and the 100.1-mph fastball he threw to Shohei Ohtani the second time through the order was his hardest-thrown pitch since 2018, according to MLB.com.
“That guy, he’s doing things no one’s ever seen,” Sale told reporters, after striking out Ohtani and holding him hitless in four at-bats. “Tit for tat, he’s probably the best I’ve ever seen. When you’re facing the best, you gotta bring your best. Tonight it worked out.
“You can’t hang your hat on that kind of stuff. You never anticipate or expect that because of who he is and his talent and what he brings to the table. This is a game of small battles. He’s going to win some, I’m gonna win some. When you’ve got a guy like that, you gotta step on the gas a little bit.”
The Dodgers have struggled at times since the All-Star break, but Will Smith’s return from injury and Shohei Ohtani’s return to pitching should help.
Sale got a standing ovation when he walked out for the ninth inning. And they booed when a safe call at first withstood replay review instead of ending the game on a double play. But Sale remained and had an even bigger final moment of the game: one more strikeout.
