Braves Avoid Historic Loss With Win Over Dodgers On Sunday

The Atlanta Braves pulled out a 4-3 win against the Los Angeles Dodgers Sunday night in the series finale to avoid the sweep - both for this series and on the season.

“It was huge,” Riley said of the win. “That’s a really good ballclub. Bryce threw the ball well, and we played good defense and were able to put it away."

They settle for going 1-5 against them this season, but it’s worth it to avoid more unnecessary history.

According to 92.9 The Game’s Grant McAuley, since the two teams began playing each other in 1890, the Braves haven't been swept in a season series by the Dodgers. The Braves pulled off the lone season series sweep back in 1994.

That disaster can wait for another year. They might as well keep this streak going. Nothing wrong with saying this streak goes back to when the Boston Beaneaters first beat the Brooklyn Bridegrooms 136 years ago. Yes, this streak is so old that these were the names of the teams at the time. Forget previous cities at that point.

Avoiding a series sweep avoids having it piled on to the 0-7 start and still being under .500 in the first few days of May. The fewer bits of history they want no part of that can hang over their heads, the better.

It wasn’t an easy win either. It was never going to be allowed. They had to earn this one.

The Braves went up 4-0. They got a good enough game from starting pitcher Bryce Elder. Austin Riley hit two home runs and drove in all four RBIs. The Dodgers responded with three runs to make it a one-run game by the seventh inning. Max Muncy continues to have timely at-bats against them. Four of his seven RBIs this season have come in this season series and two in Sunday’s game. Miguel Rojas hit his first home run of the season. Suddenly, it's 4-3. There’s never a dull moment.

It starts to bring back flashbacks of blowing a 5-0 lead April 2, the loss that extended their winless start to 0-7.

However, some redemption for that blown lead in the previous series finale came to fruition. Elder still pitched that much better. Daysbel Hernandez and Raisel Iglesias were shut down in the final innings. Hernandez picked up four outs after Dylan Lee got into trouble in the seventh inning. Iglesias gave up a lead-off single but struck out the next three batters to win the ballgame. He kept the ball in the yard. He kept the Dodgers bats at bay just enough to seal the win.

The Braves got a win while they could against a tough opponent. Since it’s at the end of the season series, they can end it on a high note. That’s behind them now; on to the rest of the season.

Up next is a four-game series against the Cincinnati Reds beginning Monday. AJ Smith-Shawver will take the mound against Brady Singer. First pitch is scheduled for 7:15 p.m.

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