There was a time last season where Braves fans just assumed that the team would win due to having Kris Medlen on the mound. While that hasn't carried over to this season, Medlen contributed on both sides of the game tonight to lead Atlanta to a much needed 2-1 win over the Dodgers.
Los Angeles starter Stephen Fife pitched well again in his third start of the season, but two home runs in the fifth inning sunk him for good.
The game was scoreless heading into the fifth inning when Dan Uggla launched a Fife curveball into the seats for his 11th home run of the season to make it 1-0. Two batters later, Medlen connected for what would be his first homer of the season, a shot to right center field that upped Atlanta's advantage to 2-0.
In addition to hitting the home run, Medlen was filthy on the mound, striking out six while allowing one walk and five hits in 6.2 innings of shutout baseball. Anthony Varvaro, Luis Avilan, Jordan Walden, and Craig Kimbrel combined for 2.1 innings of one-run baseball to protect the win in relief of Medlen.
The only Los Angeles run came in the bottom of the eighth inning when Hanley Ramirez's single to center scored Nick Punto and cut the Braves' lead to 2-1.