The visiting Los Angeles Dodgers will send Dustin May to the mound on Sunday night when they go for a season sweep against the Atlanta Braves.
The Dodgers are trying to become the first team to sweep a multi-series season set against the Braves since Toronto went 6-0 against Atlanta in 2021.
The Dodgers, who have won seven games in a row, beat the Braves 10-3 on Saturday to win their major-league-best 23rd game. They have won 10 of their last 12 games against Atlanta, including all five this season.
The starting pitchers in the series finale will feature two right-handers — May (1-1, 3.95 ERA) vs. Atlanta’s Bryce Elder (1-1, 5.33).
Elder will make his sixth start of the season. He earned his first victory on Monday at Colorado when he pitched six innings and allowed three runs on five hits, with wo walks and four strikeouts in a 6-3 victory.
“He regrouped and was really efficient to go through six,” Braves manager Brian Snitker said. “That was huge.”
Elder faced the Dodgers on April 2 and did not receive a decision after pitching four innings and allowing three runs on three hits, two of them home runs. In four career starts against Los Angeles, Elder is 0-1 with a 5.06 ERA.
May, who is holding opposing hitters to a .216 batting average, will make his sixth start of the year. In his most recent appearance, on Monday against Miami, he received no decision after pitching 5 1/3 innings and allowing three hits, five hits and three walks. He had three strikeouts in the Dodgers’ 7-6 victory in 10 innings.
“It was OK,” May said afterward. “It wasn’t great overall. I wasn’t executing as well and got away with some stuff.”
May started against the Braves on April 1 and allowed one run, which was unearned, on one hit across five innings, but he did not get a decision. May is 0-1 with a 5.14 ERA in two career appearances against Atlanta.
The Dodgers’ offense bounced back from Friday’s four-hit performance in a 2-1 victory to collect 12 hits and score double-digit runs for the fourth time this season and the third time over the last four games.
The Dodgers’ first three batters on Saturday went 8-for-13, scored eight runs and drove in six. Leadoff hitter Shohei Ohtani hit his eighth homer of the season and No. 3 hitter Freeman hit his sixth.
Before the game, Ohtani threw a 35-pitch bullpen session, but Dodgers manager Dave Roberts said Ohtani is not close to returning to the mound. He has not pitched since August 2023, when he had UCL surgery in his (right) pitching elbow.
“Hopefully at some point we’re going to start getting him to face some hitters, do some simulated games, start throwing some sliders,” Roberts said. “I think if you just look at the natural progression, he’s still a couple of months away.”
Atlanta first baseman Matt Olson had two walks Saturday to extend his streak of reaching base to 20 games.
The Dodgers, meanwhile, put Tommy Edman on the 10-day injured list and called up utility player Hyeseong Kim from Triple-A Oklahoma City.
Edman hurt his right ankle in Tuesday’s 15-2 win over the Miami Marlins and was expected to miss only one or two games. Kim made his major league debut on Saturday as a defensive replacement at second base in the eighth inning.
–Field Level Media
