ATLANTA — Atlanta third baseman Austin Riley hit a pair of two-run homers, and the Braves stopped the Los Angeles Dodgers’ winning streak at seven games with a 4-3 victory Sunday night to avoid a sweep in the weekend series at Truist Park.
Riley went deep in the first inning and again in the third. A pinch-hit home run by Miguel Rojas off Atlanta reliever Dylan Lee in the seventh cut the lead to 4-3.
Braves closer Raisel Iglesias gave up an infield hit to Andy Pages to open the ninth. Pinch-runner Hyeseong Kim stole second base and advanced to third on Will Smith’s strikeout. Iglesias struck out Rojas and Austin Barnes to earn his fifth save of the season.
The Braves had been 0-5 against the Dodgers this season after losing the first two games of the series, 2-1 on Friday night and 10-3 in the second contest, which didn’t finish until early Sunday due to a lengthy rain delay before the first pitch. Atlanta avoided being swept in the season series as well and snapped a string of seven consecutive losses to reigning World Series champion Los Angeles that began last season.
“It’s huge,” Riley said. “I think this is a really good ballclub here. We’ve shown it at times, and we’ve struggled at times. I think it’s something you can build off of to get that confidence, knowing that we can compete with the best, and go from there.”
The Braves (15-18), who started the season 0-7, are fourth of five teams in the National League East Division standings.
The Dodgers sit atop the NL West at 23-11.
“I think it’s big when you win a game like this,” Braves manager Brian Snitker said. “It’s like, ‘You know what? We’re pretty good, too.’ I think the club can take something away from that. We didn’t win the series, but it’s a big win for us. It shows us we can play, that we’re a good team, too.”
Dodgers right-hander Dustin May (1-2) trailed 2-0 before recording an out. May walked Alex Verdugo to open the game, and Riley drilled a home run 426 feet to left field.
Riley added another shot, his eighth of the season, off May in the third.
Atlanta right-hander Bryce Elder (2-1) struck out six in five-plus innings. He was charged with two runs and four hits.
Dodgers left fielder Michael Conforto made a diving catch on Drake Baldwin’s drive in the second.
Right-hander Pierce Johnson inherited runners on first and second with no outs when he took over for Elder in the sixth. He recorded three consecutive outs, including Max Muncy’s run-scoring groundout.
Conforto struck out looking in his two at-bats, leaving him in a 0-for-28 slump and his batting average at .141.
Riley is hitting .292 and leads the Braves in home runs and with his 24 RBIs.
Riley, Marcell Ozuna, Matt Olson and other Atlanta hitters are awaiting the return of outfielder Ronald Acuña Jr. as early as this month as he continues to recover from last year’s ACL surgery on his left knee.
Acuña was hurt after 49 games last season. He won the NL MVP award in 2023 with 41 home runs, 73 steals and a .337 batting average.
When asked how the top of Atlanta’s lineup would compare with the Dodgers’ top four of Shohei Ohtani, Mookie Betts, Freddie Freeman and Teoscar Hernández when Acuña returns to the leadoff spot, Snitker said: “We’re right there.”
The Braves will conclude their seven-game homestand with four contests against the Cincinnati Reds. The scheduled starting pitchers for both teams in Monday night’s opener are right-handers: AJ Smith-Shawver (1-2, 4.26 ERA) for Atlanta and Brady Singer (4-1, 3.24) for Cincinnati.