Anibal Sanchez cools off red-hot Dodgers, Braves record 14 hits in 5-3 win

The Braves evened up the series in Los Angeles on Saturday night with a 5-3 victory over the Dodgers and old friend Alex Wood.

Anibal Sanchez was strong in this one as he surrendered just two runs to a red-hot Dodgers lineup across 5 ¹⁄₃ innings. He gave up three hits, walked two and struck out five. He improved to 2-0 on the year with a 2.37 ERA.

The Braves trailed 1-0 early, but Charlie Culberson was able to line a single up the middle to score Nick Markakis and tie things at 1-1 in the second. Tyler Flowers, who was been red-hot as of late, smoked a double down the left field line in the next inning to plate two more runners and make it 3-1.

Flowers would again come through in the fifth, this time driving in Dansby Swanson with an RBI-single to right. That would be all for Wood as he departed the game after an inefficient 92 pitches.

With the score 4-2 in the seventh, Dansby doubled and Freddie Freeman singled to put runners on the corners and no one out for Markakis. The should-be All-Star snuck a ball underneath the shortstop’s glove to give Atlanta a 5-2 advantage.

Things got sticky in the bottom of the seventh, and a wild pitch from AJ Minter allowed a run to score to cut the lead to two.

Arodys Vizcaino entered in the 9th. Yasiel Puig — who seems to get a hit every time he steps into the box against the Braves — led off with a single, but Yasmani Grandal promptly grounded into a 4-6-3 double play to end the threat.

The Braves are now 37-27. They maintain a virtual tie with the Nationals in the East.

A win on Sunday would make for a 3-3 road trip to Southern California. Sean Newcomb and Ross Stripling, who are a combined 11-2 this season, will take the mound at 4:10 p.m. ET.