 left to a thunderous standing ovation from the sellout crowd at SunTrust Park as manager Brian Snitker removed him. Snitker took the ball and gave it back to Newcomb as a keepsake - instead, Newcomb simply tossed it toward the Atlanta dugout as he walked off, wanting no souvenir of the near-miss.Kent Mercker was the last Atlanta pitcher to throw a no-hitter, doing it 24 years ago at Dodger Stadium. There have been three no-hitters in the majors this year.Newcomb struck out eight and walked one against the NL West leaders. He retired the first 15 batters before walking Yasiel Puig to begin the sixth, and that was the only runner Newcomb permitted until the ninth. Shortstop Dansby Swanson made the defensive play of the day for Atlanta, ranging into shallow center field to snare a popup by Enrique Hernandez in the second.A first-round draft pick of the Los Angeles Angels in 2014, Newcomb was traded to Atlanta after the 2015 season in a deal for shortstop Andrelton Simmons. Newcomb had previously pitched a no-hitter - a seven-inning performance for the University of Hartford.Dan Winkler relieved Newcomb and gave up Manny Machado's RBI single before ending it on Matt Kemp's groundout.Nick Markakis homered and drove in three runs as the Braves snapped a four-game skid. Newcomb has been an elixir this year in such situations, improving to 8-1 with a 1.84 ERA, a span of 73 1/3 innings, following an Atlanta loss.Pitching past the seventh for the first time in 40 career starts, Newcomb worked fast, mixing a fastball in the low 90s mph with sharp breaking balls. This is his second season in the majors, having gone 4-9 in 19 starts last year.The fans let out a collective groan after Taylor's hit, but that quickly turned to raucous applause. Snitker popped out of the dugout as soon as Taylor touched first, took the ball from Newcomb and congratulated him.After tossing aside the ball, Newcomb smiled and tipped his cap as he walked to the dugout to high-five and hug his teammates.Newcomb was staked to a 2-0 lead in the first on doubles by Markakis and Kurt Suzuki and kept the Dodgers off-balance all afternoon. Markakis, the NL leader in hits and multi-hit games, made it 4-0 in the third with his 11th homer.Machado's RBI was as good as the Dodgers, who won the first three games of the series by a combined 17-4 score, could muster.Atlanta had dropped 13 of 18, was outscored 26-7 during the losing streak and had dropped 10 of their last 14 home games.Ross Stripling (8-3) was subpar in his second straight start, allowing four runs, seven hits and one walk with five strikeouts in four innings. Stripling, a first-time All-Star, gave up seven hits and five runs, a season high, in a no-decision that the Dodgers lost last week at Philadelphia.STAY PROFESSIONALBraves TV broadcaster Joe Simpson spoke with Dodgers veteran Chase Utley before the game, meeting in a clubhouse office for approximately 10 minutes following his on-air criticism of Utley and his teammates for wearing T-shirts and shorts in batting practice Saturday. During a fifth-inning package about the Dodgers' pregame attire, Simpson said some players ''looked very unprofessional'' because they weren't dressed in apparel approved by Major League Baseball.After they parted ways Sunday morning, Simpson and Utley declined to speak with reporters. Los Angeles manager Dave Roberts was pleased when told that Simpson met with Utley, but also expected a direct apology from the broadcaster. ''To take a shot at him and our guys, I just thought it was unfair,'' Roberts said.UP NEXTDodgers: RHP Kenta Maeda (7-5, 3.27 ERA) will try to win his third straight decision as Los Angeles opens a four-game home series Monday against Milwaukee. Maeda allowed four runs and six hits in seven innings of a no-decision in his last start, a 7-4 loss at Philadelphia last Tuesday.Braves: RHP Julio Teheran (7-7, 4.42) will try to improve on a 5.24 ERA in four starts this month as Atlanta opens a three-game home series Monday against Miami.---More baseball: https://apnews.com/tag/MLBbaseball)
Stripling, Dodgers go for sweep of Braves 2h ago• 2 min read ATLANTA -- The Los Angeles Dodgers will send right-hander Ross Stripling to the mound Sunday when they go for a rare four-game sweep over the Atlanta Braves in the series finale at SunTrust Park.The Dodgers last enjoyed a four-game sweep of the Braves in July 1990, before some of the players on the current roster were born. Stripling had not celebrated his first birthday when it happened.Stripling (8-2, 2.43 ERA) will face Atlanta lefty Sean Newcomb (9-5, 3.41) in the final meeting this season. The Dodgers lead the season series 5-1 and handed Atlanta its fourth straight loss Saturday.Stripling will try to bounce back from a lackluster effort in his last start Monday against the Phillies. He lasted only 4 2/3 innings and allowed five runs on seven hits but did not figure in the decision. It was his shortest stint since May 6 and came on the heels of his appearance in the All-Star Game, when he allowed two home runs."I'm never going to tell you I'm fatigued or struggling," Stripling said. "The last couple starts, even though some of the numbers have been good, I've been giving up more hits, not striking out as many. Don't know if they know what's coming a little bit or fatigue mixed in, but I feel fine." This will be Stripling's 16th start. He averages 10.3 strikeouts per nine innings with 114 against only 14 walks and a 1.10 WHIP.Stripling has made two career starts against the Braves, going 1-0 with a 3.48 ERA. He beat Atlanta on June 10 at Dodger Stadium when he gave up two runs in 6 2/3 innings and struck out six.Newcomb also seemed to rebound from three successive subpar starts prior to the All-Star Game. He allowed 13 runs in 12 innings and twice failed to pitch past the fourth inning.In his start against Miami on Monday, the southpaw gave up only one run in six innings and struck out five. Newcomb was able to throw his curveball for a strike. He had been missing with that pitch during his troubles."The curveball is a pitch that has been inconsistent for me at times," he said. "So, it was good to just rip one in there. That just left the door open for a lot of other stuff to work." Newcomb will be making his fourth career start against Los Angeles. He is 0-2 with a 6.19 ERA against the Dodgers, including a loss to them earlier this season in which he allowed five runs in 5 1/3 innings.Newcomb is not as effective in day games. His career ERA is 4.21 during the day, while 3.66 at night.The Dodgers continue to play longball. Yasiel Puig came off the disabled list Saturday and connected for a two-run homer. Los Angeles leads the National League with 143 homers. It was the third straight game in which Puig has homered.The Braves have struggled to get anything going offensively in the series. Atlanta has scored four runs in the three previous games and has dropped 13 of their last 18.
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