Dodgers Pounce on Schwellenbach’s Mistakes as Braves Drop Game Two

May 3, 2025; Cumberland, Georgia, USA; Atlanta Braves starting pitcher Spencer Schwellenbach (56) pitches against the Los Angeles Dodgers during the first inning at Truist Park. Mandatory Credit: Dale Zanine-Imagn Images

We knew coming into tonight that the Braves would need a complete effort to beat the Los Angeles Dodgers. Game one’s lack of offensive firepower from L.A. was a bit unusual for them, and anyone who follows baseball could see the bounce back coming. Grant Holmes pitched the gem of the series in the opener, and tonight’s game made that even clearer by comparison.

Spencer Schwellenbach got the call for game two. Personally, I thought he might hold his own. He came in with five quality starts, and while his numbers didn’t jump off the page, he had been doing just enough and working through the learning curve. But tonight wasn’t it. The Dodgers had their way with him early on, and Schwellenbach was far too generous with his pitch locations, and when that wasn't the case, he had trouble falling behind in counts, putting more pressure on him to force the issue.

Let’s start with that generosity. You cannot throw center-cut pitches to elite hitters and expect to survive, and the Dodgers made him pay. Shohei Ohtani, Mookie Betts, and Teoscar Hernández were locked in from the beginning. Ohtani led off the game and immediately worked a long at-bat. Schwellenbach tried to nibble early, but Ohtani fouled off pitch after pitch before finally jumping on a 1-2 fastball right over the plate for a single. No real damage yet, but the tone was set.

In the second inning, Will Smith needed just three pitches to hammer a slider for a double to center. Max Muncy followed by getting hit, and the Dodgers were quickly set up. They pushed across a run before the inning ended and started to look comfortable against Schwellenbach.

That comfort turned into damage in the third. Ohtani led off again and jumped all over the very first pitch, another fastball in the heart of the zone, and sent it 415 feet to center for his eighth homer of the year. That wasn’t just a mistake. It was a repeat mistake. Hitters have picked up on Schwellenbach’s tendency to leave pitches over the middle early in counts, and the Dodgers were clearly ready for it. Betts and Hernández followed with more hard contact, and the runs started to stack up.

When asked if he could pinpoint why opponents may be hitting him harder now, Schwellenbach said, “I’m not sure, but I know tonight I just didn't get into good counts to pitch. They were laying off some good pitches and got into some good hitter's counts and put some good swings on pitches.”

Things fully unraveled in the fourth. Schwellenbach got two quick outs, but the top of the order came back around. Ohtani singled again, his third hit of the night off Schwellenbach, and Freddie Freeman followed with an RBI single to make it 5–1. That would be the end of the line for Spencer.

Reflecting on his execution, Schwellenbach admitted, “I think the biggest thing is just not hitting my spots like I'm used to. If the pitch is supposed to be away and I'm throwing it right down the middle, or if it's a two-strike count and I’ve got to bury the slider and I'm hanging it, you know, just a couple things that need to be better.”

It was one of his toughest outings yet, right up there with the blowup in Toronto where Alan Roden and Anthony Santander both jumped on middle pitches in the fifth to break the game open. Or his start in Arizona, when Corbin Carroll led off the bottom of the first with a triple that came on another middle-middle offering. There’s a pattern here, and teams are seeing it on film.

Manager Brian Snitker echoed the need and belief that Schwellenbach will grow through adversity. “He's learning what this thing’s all about and how to make adjustments and get through adversities,” Snitker said. “I think he's experiencing some rough sledding a little bit. But when I look at a guy like that with his makeup and composure, he'll figure it out.”

I’m not writing Schwellenbach off. He’s young and has shown flashes of poise and potential. But you cannot serve up batting practice to hitters like this and expect to compete. There’s work to be done, and he has to get better at damage control. One bad thing turns into two, and then the whole outing unravels.

If he can limit those center-cut mistakes and learn how to respond better when adversity hits, he will grow. But make no mistake, tonight was a tough night at the office, and the Dodgers made him pay in full.