April 20--REPORTING FROM ATLANTA -- A homecoming for Dodgers starter Alex Wood turned into a bitter affair as his former teammates from the Braves routed him in an 8-1 defeat at Turner Field.
Wood gave up six runs in four innings. The rest of the Dodgers (8-6) looked leaden and laggard after a cross-country flight on Monday.
The offense did not record a hit against Williams Perez, rushed into duty because of the illness of scheduled starter Julio Teheran, until the fourth inning. The defense committed errors that led to runs in the third and the fourth. A passed ball opened the door for another run in the fourth. Louis Coleman and J.P. Howell teamed to allow two more runs in the seventh.
Wood last pitched in this park on July 21, 2015. His opponent was the Dodgers. Nine days later, he joined the team as part of a three-team deal involving Miami.
The traded jarred him, jostling him away from the only professional team he had known. He circled this series on the calendar when the 2016 schedule came out. On the flight here on Monday, Wood shared his excitement with Manager Dave Roberts.
"He was thrilled to get back here, to have family here and friends [watching], to compete against his former teammates," Roberts said.
Atlanta drafted Wood out of the University of Georgia in 2012. He debuted a year later. Even after the trade, he trained this winter at nearby Georgia Tech.
At the start of his career in Atlanta, the Braves still contended for playoff spots. Now the organization is in the midst of a teardown, their roster filled with veteran castoffs, a few promising prospects and relatively anonymous journeymen.
"Who is Adonis Garcia?" one Dodger asked, scouring over a scouting report a few hours before the game.
Garcia, a 31-year-old Cuban, started at third base for Atlanta, and he coaxed a walk out of Wood to load the bases in the first inning. Wood had already given up hits on first-pitch fastballs to outfielder Nick Markakis and first baseman Freddie Freeman. After a sacrifice fly by former All-Star outfielder Jeff Francoeur, catcher Tyler Flowers threaded a two-out single through the right side of the infield.
Wood operated with sporadic command. He drilled Garcia with a fastball on the left leg in the third inning, the second Brave he hit in the game. The Braves executed a hit-and-run, with Garcia dashing to third after Francoeur singled. Flowers followed up with another run-scoring single.
With Wood teetering, his defense did him few favors. Justin Turner bungled a grounder that might have resulted in a double play. Instead, the bases were loaded when Wood walked outfielder Mallex Smith.
An inning later, a pair of defensive gaffes cost the Dodgers. With a runner at first, Corey Seager fumbled a groundball and slipped into a split. Wood left a curveball over the middle in the next at-bat, and Francouer rifled an RBI single up the middle.
There were two men on and two out. Up came Flowers. When catcher Yasmani Grandal failed to catch a 1-1 curveball, the passed ball moved a runner to third base. Flowers rolled a grounder down the first-base line. Adrian Gonzalez sprawled to keep the baseball from reaching the outfield, but Flowers beat the throw and drove in his third run.
Andy.mccullough@latimes.com
Twitter: @McCulloughTimes
