Dodgers improve to 7-0 behind Dustin May after beating winless Braves 3-1

Dustin May pitched five strong innings after missing nearly two years, Mookie Betts hit his third go-ahead homer of the season and the Los Angeles Dodgers beat the winless Atlanta Braves 3-1 on Tuesday night.

With a 7-0 mark, the defending World Series champions are off to the club’s best start since moving to Los Angeles. The only better starts in franchise history came in 1955 (10-0) and 1940 (9-0) when the team was located in Brooklyn.

The slumping Braves fell to 0-6 for the first time since opening 0-9 in 2016.

May allowed just one hit and an unearned run. He struck out six and walked three in his first start since May 17, 2023. The right-hander missed last season while rehabbing from a torn flexor tendon in his right arm. In 2023, his season ended with Tommy John revision surgery.

Anthony Banda (2-0) got the win with one inning of scoreless relief. Tanner Scott earned his second save.

Betts’ throwing error at shortstop in the second led to Atlanta’s lone run.

The center-field flags were blowing straight out on a windy night when Betts’ two-run homer just cleared the left-field wall in the sixth. Also scoring was Shohei Ohtani, who singled leading off. The 2024 NL MVP has scored in each of the first seven games.

The Dodgers have homered in six straight.

They couldn’t buy a baserunner for five innings against reigning NL Cy Young Award winner Chris Sale. After Betts’ homer made it 2-1, Tommy Edman singled to knock out Sale (0-1) and scored on Will Smith’s single. The left-hander gave up four hits, struck out five and walked none.

The Braves designated 41-year-old reliever Jesse Chavez for assignment and added right-hander Zach Thompson to the roster.

Key moment

Dodgers outfielder Teoscar Hernández made a terrific catch of Drake Baldwin’s drive leading off the seventh. He waited on the ball while security scattered, then leaned over the lower wall in right, snagging the ball in his glove. His momentum carried him over the wall, but he sprang to his feet holding his glove in the air as the crowd cheered.

Key stat

The Dodgers tied the 1933 New York Yankees for the longest unbeaten streak by a reigning World Series winner to start a season.

Up next

Braves RHP Bryce Elder gets the ball for the first time this season in the series finale Wednesday. LHP Blake Snell (1-0, 3.60 ERA) makes his second start for the Dodgers.

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AP MLB: https://apnews.com/hub/MLB