Despite a shaky outing from Emmet Sheehan, the Los Angeles Dodgers come away with the win against the Atlanta Braves.
The Los Angeles Dodgers had an early season test in May as they welcomed in the red-hot Atlanta Braves for a three-game weekend series.
Even with a playoff atmosphere looming all game, the Dodgers were able to pull away with the series-opening win by a 3-1 final.
Freeman's centennial blast leads offensive charge
There wasn't a barrel full of offense in the series opener for the Dodgers, but their three runs were just enough to pull away.
The Dodgers' lineup had a tough task ahead of them as southpaw Chris Sale was on the mound for Atlanta. To negate that, manager Dave Roberts curated a right-handed-heavy lineup.
But it was the lefties that scored all the RBIs.
Kyle Tucker checked off the first run on the board for the Dodgers as he scooped a down-and-away slider for an RBI double.
Shohei Ohtani delivered the second run for Los Angeles on an RBI single in the fifth inning, and Freddie Freeman crushed a solo home run in the sixth.
That was a special longball for Freeman in the mountain pile of dingers that he's hit as that marked his 100th career home run hit as a member of the Dodgers.
May 8, 2026; Los Angeles, California, USA; Los Angeles Dodgers first baseman Freddie Freeman (5) hits a solo home run during the sixth inning against the Atlanta Braves at Dodger Stadium. -- © Jayne Kamin-Oncea-Imagn Images It also was Freeman's first home run in over a month for his team.
Emmet Sheehan continues to display inconsistency
Entering his seventh start of the season, right-hander Emmet Sheehan has stayed at a blurred middle ground.
In 35 2/3 innings pitched this year, Sheehan has clocked in an ERA of 4.79. That's not the blaring issue here.
The velocity for Sheehan has been something of a bolded question mark that has yet to be solved.
May 8, 2026; Los Angeles, California, USA; Los Angeles Dodgers pitcher Emmet Sheehan (80) pitches during the first inning against the Atlanta Braves at Dodger Stadium. -- © Jayne Kamin-Oncea-Imagn Images In the beginning of his outing on Friday night, it looked as though the velocity troubles were behind him. In his first inning of work, Sheehan topped out at 96.1 mph on his heater.
Throughout the next four innings, though, that number dwindled.
It wasn't until his fourth inning of work where the dip was significant as he averaged a not-so-flattering 92.4 mph.
"Even when it's 92, I feel like I just got to go out there with whatever I got that day and try to put us in a place to win and I was lucky enough to do that today," Sheehan said on his fluctuating velocity.
Sheehan was unable to finish off his fifth inning of work, being pulled from the game with two outs in 4 2/3 innings, but he only gave up one earned run and struck out seven.
What's next?
Looking ahead to Saturday, it will be one to watch.
Blake Snell, who was scheduled to make his fourth rehab stint in Ontario, was promoted to be the Dodgers' starter for Saturday's contest, pushing Roki Sasaki's start to Monday.
May 6, 2026; Houston, Texas, USA; Los Angeles Dodgers pitcher Blake Snell prior to the game against the Houston Astros at Daikin Park. -- © Erik Williams-Imagn Images Join the Community
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