Michael Harris II and Braves Beat Dodgers to Tie Series 1-1

Michael Harris II drove in the go-ahead run on a wild pitch by reliever Kris Bubic in the seventh inning to lift the Atlanta Braves to a 3-2 victory over the Los Angeles Dodgers on Sunday, evening the series at 1-1. The game featured a heavy reliance on bullpens after the Braves forced Dodgers starter Blake Snell out of the game after just three innings and two thirds.

Harris Sparks Atlanta Offense With Triple and RBI Double

Harris collected three hits on the day. His impact began in the third inning with a single before he turned the game in the seventh. With two outs, Harris hammered a triple and subsequently scored the go-ahead run when Bubic uncorked a wild pitch to make it 2-1 for Atlanta. Later in the same frame, Harris added an insurance run by roping an RBI double to right field against reliever Edgardo Henriquez.

The early offense for Atlanta had started in the first inning against Snell. Mauricio Dubón drove in a bases-loaded single toward shortstop with two outs. Mookie Betts made a spectacular stop on the play, but his throw to first arrived too late, allowing Ronald Acuña Jr. to cross the plate after he had singled and stolen second base.

Snell Struggles Early as Dodgers Turn to Relievers

Blake Snell labored through a difficult outing for Los Angeles, needing 27 pitches just to finish the opening frame while throwing only three more strikes than balls. The two-time Cy Young Award winner labored through 90 pitches overall—landing just 47 for strikes—while yielding one run, three hits, and five walks alongside five strikeouts before his premature exit.

Following Snell’s departure, the Dodgers bullpen kept the game close, though relief miscues proved costly. In the eighth inning, Los Angeles’s sixth reliever, Roki Sasaki, loaded the bases by issuing a walk, hitting a batter, and handing out an intentional walk with one out. Acuña extinguished the threat by grounding into an inning-ending double play.

Late-Inning Power and Bullpen Resiliency

Freddie Freeman struck back for Los Angeles in the fourth inning, connecting for a two-strike solo home run off Braves reliever Grant Holmes. Playing against his former team for the first time in the postseason, Freeman provided a steady veteran presence in the middle of the order.

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Max Muncy kept the pressure on in the ninth inning, launching a two-strike, two-out home run off Didier Fuentes to narrow the gap to 3-2. Raisel Iglesias secured his second save by inducing a foul popup to the third baseman from pinch-hitter Josue De Paula to end the contest.

The low-scoring affair stood in stark contrast to the series opener, a 5-3 victory for the Dodgers that featured five combined home runs. After issuing a walk to Betts and allowing a single to Shohei Ohtani in the top of the fifth, Atlanta relievers shut down the Los Angeles lineup entirely, retiring 14 batters. Ohtani finished the night 1-for-4 with two strikeouts, remaining quiet at the plate for the second straight game while the Dodgers left seven runners stranded through the first five frames.

Ray Kerr Starts as Braves Rest Sale

Ray Kerr took the mound as the opening pitcher for Atlanta, with the team opting to give Chris Sale additional rest ahead of his scheduled start in the next contest.

The series shifts for the third matchup on Tuesday, where Sale will take the ball for Atlanta to face Los Angeles right-handed pitcher Yoshinobu Yamamoto.