Atlanta Braves vs Los Angeles Dodgers

Matt Olson opened the scoring in the first inning with his 37th home run of the season off Dodgers starter Roki Sasaki, a solo shot to left. The Dodgers answered in the second on Hunter Feduccia's RBI single, then took a 3-1 lead in the third when Tommy Edman crushed a two-run homer (his 5th) off Braves right-hander AJ Smith-Shawver.

The momentum swung in the fourth. Sasaki walked Ozzie Albies to start the inning and, during that plate appearance, felt the skin on the middle finger of his pitching hand "just rip off," he said post-game through an interpreter. He was charged with four runs and six hits over 3.1 innings before exiting with a blister that will send him to the 15-day injured list.

Reliever Edgardo Henriquez inherited two runners, both of whom scored on Drake Baldwin's deep fly ball that Dodgers left fielder Teoscar Hernández overran for a go-ahead double. Austin Riley's sacrifice fly had already cut the deficit to 3-2. Atlanta led 4-3 after four.

Sean Murphy, who finished 3-for-4, extended the lead in the sixth with his first home run of the season — a solo shot that made it 5-3. But the Dodgers tied it in the seventh, capitalising on a bases-loaded rally against reliever Daysbel Fuentes.

With the score knotted at 5-5 in the top of the eighth, the Dodgers loaded the bases with two outs for Max Muncy — but Fuentes escaped the jam, keeping the game level. It proved decisive. In the bottom of the ninth, Lane Thomas doubled off Tanner Scott (1-5) with two outs. Dodgers manager Dave Roberts opted to intentionally walk Austin Riley, setting up a lefty-on-lefty matchup: Scott vs. Dominic Smith or Kim.

Braves manager Walt Weiss sent Kim to the plate. "Scott is just vicious on lefties," Weiss said, "but [Kim's] always hit lefties in his career." Kim worked a 3-0 count, fouled off three straight pitches, then lined a 97.2 mph four-seamer into left field. Thomas scored easily, and Kim was mobbed at first base — his first hit since June 3, ending a 27-at-bat drought.

Ha-Seong Kim (ATL) — 1-for-1, game-winning pinch-hit single. The $20M infielder had spent three weeks on a minor-league rehab assignment and had just three at-bats since being activated on Aug. 4. "It's been a rough season personally for me, but the team is doing great," Kim said. "I feel like all that hard work and preparation paid off at this moment."

Sean Murphy (ATL) — 3-for-4, 2 R, 1 HR (1st), 1 RBI. The catcher delivered three hits including his first home run of the year.

AJ Smith-Shawver (ATL) — 5 IP, 8 H, 3 ER, 2 BB, 5 K, 90 pitches (52 strikes). Making just his third MLB start since returning from Tommy John surgery in June 2025, the 23-year-old held the defending champions in check, struck out Shohei Ohtani and showed a fastball averaging 96.1 mph that touched 98.7.

Victor Mederos (ATL) — 1.0 IP, 0 H, 0 ER, 2 K. Picked up the win (3-1) with a clean ninth inning.

Tommy Edman (LAD) — 2-for-4, 2 R, 1 HR (5th), 3 RBI, BB, 2 K. The second baseman provided the Dodgers' biggest offensive output.

Roki Sasaki (LAD) — 3.1 IP, 6 H, 4 ER, 2 BB, 3 K, 66 pitches. Exited in the fourth with a blister on his pitching hand and will go on the 15-day IL, per manager Dave Roberts.

The Braves out-hit the Dodgers 14-10 and did not commit an error, while the hosts' 14 hits — their second-highest total in the past 10 games — reflected sustained pressure against a Dodgers bullpen that entered with the NL's third-best ERA (3.48). Atlanta scored in four different innings, manufacturing runs beyond the home run ball: their four-run fourth came on a sac fly, a double, and defensive miscue. The Dodgers, by contrast, got all five runs on two swings (Edman's two-run homer) and station-to-station singles, and went 0-for-3 with runners in scoring position after the sixth inning.

The Braves (78-55) claimed the season series against the Dodgers, a crucial tiebreaker should the two clubs finish level for the second NL bye. Atlanta trails Los Angeles (80-53) by two games for that spot, with both teams also chasing the Milwaukee Brewers (82-51) for the No. 1 seed. The Dodgers additionally face uncertainty in their rotation with Sasaki headed to the IL; left-hander Eric Lauer is expected to fill his spot.

Next up: The series finale Thursday afternoon at Truist Park — Yoshinobu Yamamoto (10-4, 3.12 ERA) starts for the Dodgers against Atlanta's Spencer Schwellenbach (8-7, 3.89 ERA).

This was the kind of regular-season game that feels like October. The Dodgers' bullpen, a strength all year, cracked under the weight of Atlanta's relentless lineup. And in a season where Kim had become a symbol of a $20-million gamble gone wrong, baseball's cruelest game offered a moment of improbable redemption. The Braves believe they've found something in the ninth inning — they've now won twice this month on walk-offs.

All quotes sourced from MLB.com (Mark Bowman) and the Los Angeles Times (Maddie Lee).