Corey Seager Slugs 3 HRs in Dodgers' 4-2 Win
LOS ANGELES (AP) — Corey Seager hit three solo homers, the second driving in the go-ahead run in the sixth inning, and the Los Angeles Dodgers beat the Atlanta Braves 4-2 on Friday night in the series opener.
It was the second multi-homer game of Seager's career, with the young shortstop blasting two against the Cardinals on May 15. He became the first Dodgers rookie with three homers in a game since Don Demeter on April 21, 1959, against the Giants at the Los Angeles Coliseum.
Kenta Maeda (5-3) allowed two runs — one earned — and six hits in 6 1/3 innings, striking out five and walking two.
Kenley Jansen pitched the ninth for his 16th save in 18 chances.
Returning from a seven-game trip, the Dodgers won their fifth in a row and eighth in their last 10 at home.
Seager capped his night with a shot to left field leading off the eighth against Hunter Cervenka. The crowd demanded a curtain call, and he complied, tipping his cap from the top of the dugout steps.
Seager connected on the first pitch from Julio Teheran (1-6) leading off the fourth, drawing the Dodgers to 2-1.
Trayce Thompson, Seager's roommate, followed in the fifth, sending a 1-0 pitch into center field to tie the game at 2.
Seager came back in the sixth with his 11th homer of the season, a shot to center field that gave the Dodgers a 3-2 lead.
The Dodgers' youngsters provided all the power on a night when leading hitter Adrian Gonzalez went 0 for 3 with a walk, leadoff hitter Chase Utley struck out swinging four times and Justin Turner was 0 for 4 with two strikeouts.
Teheran was the hard-luck loser, allowing three runs — two earned — and three hits in 5 2/3 innings. He struck out seven and walked two, including just one walk among his first 10 batters. The right-hander is winless in six career starts against the Dodgers.
Other than their four homers, the Dodgers didn't advance a runner beyond first base until the seventh when Yasmani Grandal walked and Thompson doubled into the left-field corner. But they stranded both runners.
The Braves led 2-0 on RBI singles by Adonis Garcia in the first and Mallex Smith in the second.
QUOTE OF THE NIGHT
"They all have 10 hitting coaches, and they read the newspapers and listen to the radio and it clutters their minds even worse.'" — Braves hitting coach Terry Pendleton on his team's .226 batting average, lowest in the majors
TRAINER'S ROOM
Braves: RHP Jim Johnson returned from his rehab assignment and was reinstated from the DL. ... RHP Ryan Weber was optioned to Triple-A Gwinnett.
Dodgers: OF Yasiel Puig was placed on the DL before the game with a strained left hamstring. He's the 16th different Dodger on the DL this season, which leads the majors.
UP NEXT
Braves: RH Mike Foltynewicz (2-2, 3.51 ERA) faces the Dodgers for the first time.
Dodgers: LHP Clayton Kershaw (7-1, 1.56) went 5-0 with three shutouts in six May starts and led the majors in ERA (0.91), strikeouts (55) and innings (49.2). He was set to start Friday, but got pushed back a day when the team decided to give Maeda an extra day of rest.
(Copyright 2016 The Associated Press. All rights reserved. This material may not be published, broadcast, rewritten or redistributed.)