Sep 16, 2024; Atlanta, Georgia, USA; Los Angeles Dodgers starting pitcher Yoshinobu Yamamoto (18) throws against the Atlanta Braves in the first inning at Truist Park.
12:25 JST, September 17, 2024
ATLANTA (AP) — Freddie Freeman hit a three-run home run against his former team on Monday night and the Los Angeles Dodgers beat Atlanta 9-0, knocking the Braves out of playoff contention.
Shohei Ohtani was 0 for 4 with a walk and a pair of run-scoring grounders that raised his RBI total to 108. He didn’t hit a homer or steal a base during the series, holding himself to 47 homers and 48 steals in his bid to become the first 50-50 player.
Yoshinobu Yamamoto allowed four hits and two walks in four innings, throwing 72 pitches in his second start since returning from a right arm injury — up from 59 on Sept. 10.
“We’ve tried to take our time with him and make sure he’s completely healthy and build him up the right way,” Dodgers manager Dave Roberts said. “It’s a boost and he knows how valuable he is to our club. These last two starts, I feel like we’ve got a good foundation and we’re almost at the point where we can just let him go.”
The Dodgers extended their scoreless streak to 15 innings and threw their 13th shutout.
NL West-leading Los Angeles (89-61) entered the night 3 1/2 games behind second-place San Diego. The Dodgers scored nine runs on just four hits for only the second time since 1906: The other came on June 4, 2021, also in Atlanta.
After losing the first two games of the series by a combined 16-3 margin, the Dodgers defeated the Braves 18-2 in the final two games.
“When you go into a run like this at the end of the year and you want to play well and lose the first two games, to come back and respond, I thought that was a big success by the team,” Freeman said. “I’ve been playing for a long time and that was probably one of the weirdest offensive games I’ve ever been in.”
Atlanta (81-69) fell one game behind the New York Mets (82-68) for the NL’s third wild-card spot. The Braves were 0 for 12 with runners in scoring position, including 0 for 10 against Yamamoto.
Los Angeles capitalized with seven hits, a hit batter and a wild pitch. Miguel Rojas was 1 for 1 with two hits, a steal and three runs scored.
“He really exemplifies what I want from a baseball player,” Roberts said. “Tonight he won a baseball game for us.”
Los Angeles Dodgers’ Shohei Ohtani (17) celebrates in the dugout after Freddie Freeman hits a three-run home run in the seventh inning of a baseball game against the Atlanta Braves, Monday, Sept. 16, 2024, in Atlanta.
Max Fried (9-10) gave up three runs and two hits in six innings
Fried threw a run-scoring wild pitch in the first after Rojas walked, advanced on a grounder and stole third. Rojas’ run-scoring single and Ohtani’s RBI grounder increased the lead to 3-0 in the fifth.
Freeman ended his six-run seventh inning with his 22nd home run, after Ohtani, Mookie Betts and Teoscar Hernández had driven in runs.
