Drake Baldwin didn’t wait around. First inning, first real swing of consequence, and the ball was already gone. A solo shot to put the Braves up 1-0 before most fans had settled in. It felt like a continuation of something already in motion, the kind of early strike that has followed Baldwin through the opening stretch of his sophomore season. The timing is sharp, the approach is direct, and the results keep stacking up.
Soriano Slams the Door Early
Instead of unraveling, Jose Soriano responded with complete control. That first-inning homer stood alone, isolated from everything that followed. Over the next seven innings, Atlanta managed almost nothing, just two additional hits and no sustained pressure. Soriano didn’t issue a single walk and struck out ten, keeping counts short and hitters off balance. There was no visible adjustment in the Braves’ lineup, no stretch in which the at-bats suggested a breakthrough was building.
By the middle innings, the pattern had settled in. Quick outs, weak contact, and strikeouts that ended at-bats before they could develop. Soriano dictated pace and location, and Atlanta never disrupted either.
Braves Unravels in One Inning
Chris Sale’s outing took a different shape, and it turned quickly. The very first pitch he threw left the yard off Zach Neto’s bat, immediately canceling out the early lead. Sale steadied through the next couple of innings, but the fourth collapsed in a sequence that never reset.
Hit by a pitch. Single. Walk. A groundout that did little to slow the momentum. Another hit by pitch. Then a single that pushed the score to 4-1. There was no clean break in the inning, no moment where Sale regained control. Traffic built pitch by pitch until the inning gave way.
In the fifth, Jo Adell added a two-run homer that stretched the lead to 6-1, removing any remaining tension.
Offense Goes Silent for Six Straight Innings
What followed from Atlanta’s offense was as stark as it was brief. Six consecutive innings, second through seventh, ended in order. No baserunners, no extended at-bats, no disruption to Soriano’s rhythm. The lineup cycled without effect, and the game settled into a one-sided pace.
Mauricio Dubon’s solo homer in the ninth trimmed the final score to 6-2, but it landed after the outcome had already been decided.
The Braves have now dropped three straight, sliding from a 6-2 start to 6-5. The margin that once looked comfortable has narrowed in a matter of days. The series continues tonight in Anaheim, where Reynaldo Lopez is set to face Yusei Kikuchi.
