Beat the heat.
The Los Angeles Dodgers remained unbeaten in seven consecutive series after defeating the Atlanta Braves, 7-2, in the rubber match on Sunday Afternoon.
Following a split of the first two games of the series that saw Los Angeles hit six homers, the Boys in Blue broke out the bats again against the Braves with three more dingers in the finale.
Logan Forsythe, Max Muncy, and Enrique Hernandez all went deep for the Dodgers as Los Angeles recaptured the National League lead in home runs with 84 on the season.
Forsythe kicked off the home run barrage in the bottom of the third inning when he greeted newcomer, Sean Newcomb with a solo shot to the short porch in left field.
After the game, Forsythe said the home run was dedicated to his "Aunt Deb," who passed away on Saturday.
"I was sitting on a fastball and luckily I got it pull side," said Forsythe of the homer. "Newcomb's got a really good fastball that rides up in the zone. I had a plan and stuck with it. I was trying to be more aggressive early in the count."
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Newcomb would find himself in further trouble after loading the bases for NL batting leader Matt Kemp.
Kemp continued his tear with runners in scoring position, with an RBI single to center field and the Dodgers lead 3-0, after three.
"I made a couple stupid pitches," said Newcomb of his start. "I wasn't making the pitches I was supposed to and I was just leaving them there for them to hit and it all happened really fast there in the third inning."
Kemp is second in the league with RISP with an average of .426, just 30 points behind Atlanta's Freddie Freeman.
Ross Stripling ran into some trouble in the top of the fourth, surrendering solo shots to Ozzie Albies and Freddie Freeman before retiring the last two hitters of the inning.
"Obviously the two homers was tough, but I was able to limit it after that," said Stripling. "I gave us a chance to win and that's what I was trying to do when I went out there."
Stripling (5-1) won his fifth consecutive start and continued to stay hot, allowing just the two runs on four hits with no walks and six strikeouts in 6 and 2/3 innings.
"I feel confident saying my curveball is my best pitch," said Stripling of what was working on his outing. "But my other three pitches play off of it and I'm able to make my curveball look different during different sequences."
Max Muncy homered for the third consecutive game when he hammered a first-pitch fastball from Newcombe into the seats in left field for his team-leading 12th home run of the season.
Muncy went 1-for-2 with two RBI and two walks today, extending his career-high hitting streak to seven games.
"It's just a good stretch for me," said Muncy of his hitting streak. "That's kind of how baseball goes. This is one of those stretches where it feels like everythings over the plate for me. I'm sure it won't be long until everything seems like its on the corner, but when you get a stretch like this you have to take advantage of it."
Hernandez put the finishing touches on the Dodgers seventh victory in their last nine games with a solo shot to center field in the bottom of the seventh.
Hernandez continues to hit the ball well at home, batting .284 with 12 runs, two doubles, one triple, six homers and 13 RBI.
Los Angeles has won an MLB-best 17 out of their last 23 games.
Up Next:
The Dodgers will have an off day on Monday before hosting the Texas Rangers for a quick two-game interleague series starting Tuesday.
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