In Atlanta, Chris Sale struck out 11 in a five-hit shutout, Drake Baldwin launched a leadoff homer against Yoshinobu Yamamoto, and the Atlanta Braves edged the Los Angeles Dodgers 1-0 on Thursday night to complete a three-game sweep. This was reported by Qazaqyia.kz citing Associated Press.
Sale (13-9) did not walk a batter. The left-hander posted his fourth double-digit strikeout game this season and the 95th of his career, which ranks seventh all-time.
Fans in the sellout crowd of 39,650 cheered when Sale strolled out to the mound for the ninth inning even though relievers were ready in the Atlanta bullpen. Braves manager Walt Weiss stuck with his ace after Freddie Freeman singled leading off the ninth.
Teoscar Hernández popped out, pinch-runner Alek Thomas was out at second.
Baldwin hit a solo home run to left on Yamamoto's first pitch of the game in the first inning. It was his 12th homer of the season.
Yamamoto (10-6) allowed five hits and one walk over seven innings, striking out seven. He was charged with only Baldwin's homer.
The Braves' win gave them a three-game sweep, and they have won eight of the last ten meetings against the Dodgers.
Sale's shutout was the 15th of his career, and the Braves' 12th shutout of the season.
The Dodgers remained atop the NL West despite the loss, but they are 2-8 in their last ten games against the Braves.
The game lasted 2 hours and 12 minutes, one of the fastest of the season.
After the game, Sale said, "I was just doing my job. Happy to get the win for the team."
Weiss added, "Chris was great today. He did everything we needed."
Dodgers manager Dave Roberts said, "Yamamoto pitched well, but Sale was great today. We needed some luck."
The win gave the Braves their 70th victory of the season, while the Dodgers suffered their 68th loss.
Next, the Braves play the Philadelphia Phillies, and the Dodgers play the San Diego Padres.