The Atlanta Braves’ Nick Markakis looks toward home plate from the third-base line during Saturday’s game against the Los Angeles Dodgers in Atlanta.ATLANTA – It didn’t take Los Angeles Dodgers slugger Yasiel Puig too long to get his home run swing back.
“I’m so happy to be back with the team and help the team win today and do something with the bat,” he said. “Today I helped do something in the game, and I feel good. I thank God for bringing me back at 100 percent.”
Puig homered and drove in three runs in his return from the disabled list, and teammate Alex Wood pitched 5 2/3 scoreless innings to win his sixth straight decision as the Dodgers beat the struggling Atlanta Braves 5-1 Saturday night.
Back after missing 15 games with a right oblique strain, Puig made it 1-0 with a sacrifice fly in the second off Max Fried and pushed the lead to 3-0 in the sixth with his 12th homer of the season, a towering shot off Luke Jackson that bounced off the third-level scoreboard facade in left field at SunTrust Park.
Wood (7-5) allowed one hit and four walks with five strikeouts. His performance followed Rich Hill’s seven scoreless innings Thursday and Clayton Kershaw’s one run allowed in 7 2/3 innings Friday against an Atlanta offense that led the National League for most of the first half of the season.
The Braves, second in the NL East, have lost four straight and 13 of 18 mostly because their bats have been quieted. They’ve averaged 2.2 runs over their past 13 defeats and have dropped to fifth in runs scored in the NL. Johan Camargo accounted for Atlanta’s offense with a home run off Caleb Ferguson in the seventh.
“We’re having a hard time kind of getting anything flowing at all, any rhythm in the at-bats, anything moving, the whole thing,” Braves manager Brian Snitker said. “I wish I had the magic answer to make it happen, but you don’t. That’s why you have to keep playing and grinding. One day it will.”
Puig hit the Dodgers’ 143rd homer of 2018, tops in the NL for the West Division leaders.
“He fouled some balls off, spoiled some good pitches on a couple that he should’ve handled, but kept going,” Los Angeles manager Dave Roberts said. “He got a breaking ball out over, and that was a big hit. That was good for him and to get back in the swing of things and get a big lift for us.”
Wood stranded a runner in scoring position in the first and second innings as he improved to 6-0 with a 2.61 ERA in seven starts since he lost at home to the Braves on June 9.
“I really feel like it’s almost come together as a whole for our staff all at the right time,” Wood said. “We’re starting to head down the stretch, and hopefully we can continue to have outings like that.”
He didn’t get a chance to face Tyler Flowers with two runners on in the sixth. Flowers began the game with seven hits and eight RBIs in 11 career at-bats against Wood, so Roberts brought in J.T. Chargois. Flowers struck out.
The Dodgers led 1-0 in the second when Enrique Hernandez singled and scored on Puig’s sacrifice fly. They went up 5-1 in the ninth on RBI singles by Chris Taylor and Manny Machado.
Fried (1-4) allowed one run, two hits and three walks with seven strikeouts in five innings. He was reinstated from the disabled list after missing 14 games with a left middle finger blister.
Machado went 2-for-3 and walked twice to extend his career-best on-base streak to 28 games. It’s the second-longest active streak in the majors and dates to June 27. He’s hitting .352 over that stretch.
Snitker said second baseman Ozzie Albies was held out of the lineup on a scheduled night off to rest his right hamstring. Injured the week before at Washington, Albies missed four games. He returned Thursday and went 1-for-8 with four strikeouts over the next two games.
He singled as a pinch-hitter in the seventh inning Saturday, and Snitker plans to have him back in the lineup today. The 21-year-old Albies, an All-Star in his first full seasons in the majors, is one of two NL players with 20 homers and 10 stolen bases this year.