Braves Walk Off Dodgers 6-5 as Ha-Seong Kim Singles in Ninth

Ha-Seong Kim delivered a pinch-hit single off Tanner Scott in the bottom of the ninth inning on Wednesday night to lift the Atlanta Braves to a 6-5 victory over the Los Angeles Dodgers at Truist Park in Atlanta.

The victory clinched a series win for Atlanta and narrowed the gap against Los Angeles to two games for the top two seed in the National League playoff standings.

Dodgers starter Roki Sasaki left the contest after 3 1/3 innings due to a right middle finger blister. Sasaki allowed three runs on three hits with one walk before exiting early.

Reliever Edgardo Henriquez entered with two runners on base, but a fielding misplay in left field by Teoscar Hernández allowed two runs to score, giving Atlanta a 4-3 lead. Sean Murphy padded the lead with a solo home run off Eric Lauer in the sixth inning.

Los Angeles tied the game 5-5 in the seventh inning following a bases-loaded walk to Tommy Edman, but left 11 runners stranded throughout the evening, including loading the bases without scoring in the eighth.

Dodgers manager Dave Roberts addressed the overall breakdown of execution during the loss.

"The base hit by Kim ended the game, but it's not what cost us the game," said Dave Roberts, manager of the Los Angeles Dodgers.

Roberts elaborated on the defensive mistake in left field that allowed the Braves to take the lead in the fourth inning.

"Balls typically that go into the corner … will go back to the field," said Dave Roberts, manager of the Los Angeles Dodgers. "He got in the corner and just overran it … Would've given up one run [even if he caught it]. But ultimately, it ended up being two."

The Dodgers bullpen was forced into duty early following Sasaki's unexpected exit from the mound.

"It was a pretty good blister," said Dave Roberts, manager of the Los Angeles Dodgers. "It just came out of nowhere."

Despite bringing momentum into the road trip, the setback marked a fifth consecutive series loss against opponents with winning records for the defending champions.

"This," said Dave Roberts, manager of the Los Angeles Dodgers, "was a tough one."

The team created multiple scoring opportunities late in the game but failed to convert with runners in scoring position.

"Creating traffic, getting guys on base is one part of the equation," said Dave Roberts, manager of the Los Angeles Dodgers. "But you got to finish the inning."

Following the defeat, Roberts reflected on the missed chances across nine innings.

"I thought we had a really good chance to win this game," said Dave Roberts, manager of the Los Angeles Dodgers. "I just think that it's a tough loss."

Dodgers infielder Max Muncy expressed frustration after striking out to end the eighth-inning bases-loaded threat against Braves reliever Didier Fuentes.

"We haven't cashed in," said Max Muncy, infielder for the Los Angeles Dodgers. "We've had a lot of opportunities but we haven't cashed in on it … If we do our job on any of those opportunities, it's a different outcome."

In the ninth inning, Scott threw eight consecutive fastballs to Kim before yielding the game-winning line drive to left field.

Scott assessed his pitch selection during the final at-bat after taking the loss for a second consecutive night.

The Dodgers will face Atlanta in the series finale on Thursday as Yoshinobu Yamamoto takes the mound against Braves starter Chris Sale.