LOS ANGELES – Five things about the Braves’ 7-3 loss to the Dodgers in Friday night’s series opener at Dodger Stadium.
1. The Dodgers are 6-1 with 62 runs and a jaw-dropping 22 homers in seven June games, including a season-high five homers Friday. They've had at least three homers in all but one game this month and had two homers in that one. Their seven runs Friday against the Braves were the second-fewest for the Dodgers in a game this month. The Dodgers have won 16 of their past 21 games to improve to 32-31.
2. The Braves fell to 1-3 on the six-game Southern California trip that began with a series loss at San Diego. They've lost 11 of 14 games at Dodger Stadium since the beginning of the 2014 season and 13 of their past 16 at the ballpark including the last two games of the 2013 Division Series.
3. Atlanta's Ozzie Albies is 12-for-69 (.174) with four doubles, no homers, one RBI and a .462 OPS in his past 16 games, after batting .286 (58-for-203) with 15 doubles, two triples, 14 homers, 34 RBIs and a .915 OPS in his first 47 games.
4. The Braves are 7-9 with a 4.15 ERA in their past 16 games and Friday was the 11th time they scored four or fewer in that stretch. After going 13-2 with 26 homers, 88 runs (5.9 per), a .284 average and .840 OPS in 15 road games through May 14, they are 3-7 with nine homers, 40 runs (4.0 per), a .249 average and .712 OPS in their past 10 road games.
5. Cody Bellenger's eighth-inning homer for the Dodgers was his 12th of the season and gave him home runs in four consecutive games for the first time in his career. Joc Pederson's fifth-inning two-out homer that chased Braves starter Brandon McCarthy from the game was Pederson's sixth in his past six games. He's 9-for-20 with two doubles, six homers, nine runs, eight RBIs and a 1.900 OPS in those six games, after hitting .244 with one homer in 131 at-bats while posting a .713 OPS in his first 53 games.
