Managerial misstep results in Noah Schultz’s exit

Schwarber came into this one in a bit of a slump, going 0-for-17 over his last four games. He drew a walk and scored a run in the first inning, then brought a run in to score on a groundout in the second. Schwarber then took Martín Pérez deep for a solo homer in the fourth, his first home run since August 26. He later added a single in the sixth and drew a walk in the eighth. The 33-year-old slugger leads baseball with 41 homers while hitting .240/.356/.520 with 83 runs scored and 85 RBI across 610 plate appearances.

Acuña knocked a base hit in the first inning, then provided the only run the team could score over six innings against Zack Wheeler, taking him deep for a solo homer in the third inning. It was a massive, 450-foot moonshot for his 15th of the season. The 28-year-old outfielder is hitting .251/.349/.432 with 51 runs scored, 41 RBI, and 20 steals across 392 plate appearances.

Duran was summoned in the top of the ninth to close out the game against the Braves with a two-run lead. He struck out the first batter, then induced a pair of groundouts to end the game with his 30th save of the season, with a 1.58 ERA over 51 1/3 innings.

Wheeler started the top of the first inning by loading the bases with no outs and got himself out of the jam unscathed with a pop-up, a strikeout, and a flyout. After a clean second inning, Ronald Acuña Jr. took Wheeler deep for a solo homer in the third. Wheeler settled in for three more scoreless innings, holding the Braves to just the one run while collecting nine strikeouts. The 36-year-old right-hander ends the day with a 3.23 ERA, 1.08 WHIP, and a 163/43 K/BB ratio across 136 1/3 innings. He’ll take on the Astros in Philadelphia on Thursday.

Pérez labored through a 35-pitch first inning, allowing two runs on four walks and one hit. He gave up a third run on a triple and a groundout in the second inning. Kyle Schwarber then took him deep for a solo homer in the fourth. Pérez recorded one more out and allowed back-to-back hits, ending his day with two outs in the inning at 84 pitches. The 35-year-old left-hander will take a 3.25 ERA, 1.27 WHIP, and a 94/54 K/BB ratio across 124 2/3 innings into a rematch against the Phillies in Atlanta on Friday.

Rushing was ramping up his throwing program on the field before the game and felt a bit sore, so the Dodgers opted to give him the night off rather than have him serve as the designated hitter. Alex Call replaced him in the lineup and will start in left field while Teoscar Hernandez functions as the designated hitter.

Muncy was in the club’s original lineup, but he was feeling a bit under the weather as game time approached so the Dodgers opted to play it safe and give him the night off. Enrique Hernandez will cover third base in his absence and bat ninth against Cade Cavalli and the Nationals.

The Dodgers needed to clear a spot on their 40-man roster for the activation of Bobby Miller (shoulder) on Saturday and Thomas drew the short straw this time around. There’s a chance that with his defensive prowess he could attract interest on waivers.

It sounds like the 25-year-old infielder was going to elect free agency anyways if the Marlins tried to send him outright to Triple-A Jacksonville, so they’ll just set him free instead. Jiménez slashed a miserable .199/.306/.259 in his 194 plate appearances with the Marlins. If he latches on elsewhere, it will almost assuredly have to be on a minor league pact.

Conforto opened the scoring in the ballgame with a 411-foot (103.2-mph EV) solo shot off of Ryan Gusto in the third inning. He also led off the sixth inning with a single and scored on a two-out RBI knock from Michael Busch that proved to be the difference in the ballgame. The 33-year-old outfielder is now hitting .240/.332/.489 with 14 long balls and 38 RBI in 256 plate appearances on the year.