Spencer Schwellenbach stifles Shohei Ohtani, Braves beat Dodgers 6-2
AP Sports Writer
ATLANTA (AP) — Spencer Schwellenbach kept Shohei Ohtani in the park and off the bases, while Gio Urshela and Jorge Soler went deep for the Atlanta Braves in a 6-2 victory over the Los Angeles Dodgers on a damp Friday night.
Ohtani was hitless in four at-bats with two strikeouts, putting a hold on his quest to become the first player in major league history with 50 homers and 50 stolen bases in a season. He was 0 for 3 against Schwellenbach (6-7) before striking out on a rising, 95 mph fastball from Joe Jiménez that was well out of the zone.
“What he’s doing is incredible,” Schwellenbach said. “If he’s gonna do it, he’s gonna do it. I’m just going out there and trying to get him out.”
The Dodgers star is at 47 homers and 48 stolen bases with 15 games left in the regular season.
Schwellenbach, who started the season in the Class A Sally League, surrendered two runs on four hits in six strong innings. He bounced back from a rough start in his last outing, when he gave up 10 hits and six runs (three earned) against Toronto.
“Nothing seems to bother him,” manager Brian Snitker said. “He keeps the game slowed down. It doesn’t seem to speed up on him, which is awesome.”
Atlanta remained a game behind the Mets for the NL’s final wild-card spot. New York won 11-3 at division-leading Philadelphia.
“We’re in scoreboard-watching territory,” Snitker said. “But we are focused on what we can do. We can only do what we can do.”
The Dodgers came in with five-game lead over Arizona in the NL West. LA’s magic number was 11 to clinch their 12th division title in the last 13 years.
Los Angeles also started a rookie, Landon Knack, who didn’t fare nearly as well as Schwellenbach on a night where showers sent fans scattering for cover a couple of times but never halted play.
Knack (2-4) was rocked in two innings of work, giving up seven hits, five runs, two homers and two walks. Of the six hitters he retired, two of them hit towering flies that were caught at the wall in center field.
After Matt Olson put the home team ahead with a run-scoring double in the first, Atlanta poured it on in the second as Urshela and Soler both hit two-run homers to make it 5-0.
Raisel Iglesias pitched a perfect ninth in a non-save situation to extend his scoreless streak to 35 1/3 innings.
Atlanta’s Marcell Ozuna had three hits, including the 1,500th of his career.
Miguel Rojas hit a solo homer for Los Angeles. But the top three in the Dodgers order — Ohtani, Mookie Betts and Freddie Freeman — went 0 for 11.
TRAINER’S ROOM
Dodgers: RHP Tyler Glasnow (9-6, 3.49 ERA) had a potentially major setback in his recovery from an ailing elbow. The right-hander was supposed to pitch a simulated game, but the session was cut short while warming up in the bullpen when he felt pain in his arm. Glasnow went on the 15-day injured list Aug. 16 in what was described as more of a precautionary move. Now, the Dodgers are concerned that the injury is more serious.
Braves: 2B Whit Merrifield returned to the lineup one week after a foul ball left him with a fractured left foot. He beat out an infield hit in his first at-bat. … 2B Ozzie Albies (fractured wrist) is hoping to return in the next week or so, but not as a switch-hitter. Albies told reporters he would only bat right-handed to help deal with lingering discomfort in his wrist. which has kept him off the field longer than expected. … C Travis d’Arnaud was reinstated from the paternity list.
UP NEXT
LH Chris Sales (16-3, 2.38) gets the start for Atlanta on Saturday night, going for his MLB-leading 17th win. Sale hasn’t been charged with a loss since June 27. The Dodgers will counter with RH Jack Flaherty (12-6, 2.86), who is 5-1 in seven starts since being acquired from Detroit.
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