Freddie Freeman Hits 100th Dodger Homer — Against the Braves, Of Course

Freddie Freeman launched his 100th home run as a Dodger on Friday night, a sixth-inning solo shot off Chris Sale that proved to be the decisive blow in a 3-1 Los Angeles win over Atlanta at Dodger Stadium. The milestone landed against the franchise where Freeman spent his first 12 seasons, and it was anything but coincidence — he now owns six home runs and a .977 OPS against the Braves since crossing to the West Coast. The Braves arrived in Los Angeles tied with the Cubs for baseball's best record at 26-12, making this a legitimate measuring-stick series. Freeman measured up immediately.

The more telling story for market-watchers may be what happened on the mound. Emmet Sheehan, pressed into a higher-leverage role with Tyler Glasnow sidelined by back spasms, delivered 4⅓ innings of one-run ball, striking out seven while mixing four pitches against a dangerous Atlanta lineup. His velocity has drawn scrutiny all season, but the strikeout rate held. Behind him, a four-man relief corps — Alex Vesia, Kyle Hurt, Will Klein, and Brock Stewart — combined for 4⅔ scoreless frames before Tanner Scott closed it out. The Dodgers held the Braves to three hits over the final nine outs.

The offense was efficient rather than explosive. Kyle Tucker doubled home Teoscar Hernández in the second, and Shohei Ohtani added an RBI single in the fifth, scoring Miguel Rojas following a throwing error. Three runs was enough because the pitching staff held Atlanta to just four total hits on the night. That kind of performance — manufactured runs, lockdown bullpen — is exactly what low-total environments look like.

Saturday brings Blake Snell back from the IL against Atlanta, which has context for multiple prop markets. Snell's return introduces real pitch-count and workload uncertainty — expect a short leash from Dave Roberts, which means the Dodgers' bullpen will again be taxed early. The first-5-innings total is worth monitoring against Snell's lines given his rust factor; Atlanta's lineup has the patience and power to exploit early command issues. On the Freeman side, six homers and a sub-1.000 OPS against his former club in limited sample is a sharp enough trend to ride his home run prop as a live look while he stays this locked in against Sale and company.

Longer-term, Glasnow's 15-day IL stint and Mookie Betts still on rehab assignment means the Dodgers are running at partial capacity. Despite that, they held the NL's hottest team to one run. Team totals for this series — particularly with Snell's workload limits in play — lean toward under territory until the rotation stabilizes. Back the process: fewer starters going deep means more bullpen, and this Dodgers 'pen is currently one of the most reliable shutdown units in the league.