LOS ANGELES_The few thousand people remaining at Dodger Stadium Tuesday night stood with two outs in the ninth inning. It was approaching 10 p.m. and Hyun-Jin Ryu was still on the mound, attempting to complete a game for the first time since his rookie season of 2013 when he arrived in Los Angeles from Korea.
They roared when he got two strikes on Atlanta's Freddie Freeman with a runner on second and they roared louder when Freeman flailed at a fastball up out of the zone for strike three, sealing the Dodgers' 9-0 win over the Braves.
Justin Turner fueled Ryu's run support, slugging three home runs in a game for the first time in his career after beginning the night with one on the season. He added an RBI single and finished with a career-high six runs batted in.
It was Ryu's third complete game and second shutout of his career. He did it with 93 pitches, a ruthless efficiency the Braves could not derail. Ryu maintained a perfect game for five innings. He gave up four hits and struck out six. He hasn't walked a batter at Dodger Stadium since Aug. 26 _ a span of 63 innings and nine starts. He contributed a bloop single to top it off.
The combination extended the Dodgers' home winning streak to nine games. At 24-14, they're 10 games over .500 for the first time. They weren't 10 games over .500 last season until their 94th game on July 13.
Tuesday's pitching matchup was a duel between left-handers with two of the stingiest walk rates in baseball. Ryu entered tops in that department, having issued two walks en route to posting a 2.55 earned-run average in 351/3 innings. On the other side, Max Fried ranked 10th, having walked seven batters in 381/3 innings, and none in his previous two starts, while recording a 2.11 ERA.
Ryu was able to sustain his excellence. Fried was not. A Los Angeles native and Studio City Harvard-Westlake graduate making his first appearance at Dodger Stadium, Fried battled command trouble from the outset.
First, he allowed a home run to the second batter he faced, Turner, who connected for his first at Chavez Ravine this season. After Cody Bellinger singled and Chris Taylor worked a two-out walk, Max Muncy smacked a groundball that shortstop Dansby Swanson, who was on the right side of second base in a shift, couldn't corral. Bellinger easily scored from third and Taylor, obeying third-base coach Dino Ebel's spirited wave home, just beat Swanson's throw at the plate with a headfirst slide.
Fried tossed 31 pitches in the first inning. His 35th pitch was a 94-mph fastball that Alex Verdugo lined back at him to lead off the bottom of the second. The ball bounced off Fried's hand and Verdugo sprinted for an infield single. Fried tested the hand with two pitches before he walked off the mound, ending his brief homecoming in disappointment and leaving the Braves bullpen to cover at least seven innings. X-rays on Fried's hand were negative, the Braves announced. He was diagnosed with a contusion.
Josh Tomlin replaced Fried. He got two outs before Turner lined a hard-hit single to center that Verdugo scored on after another sound read and aggressive decision by Ebel.
Ryu, meanwhile, was ruthlessly efficient and got some help. Second baseman Muncy aided his effort in the fifth inning with a diving stop on Nick Markakis' groundball in shallow right field. His throw reached a rumbling Ryu in stride as he stepped on first base just ahead of Markakis for the second out.
Ryu emerged from the inning having thrown 54 pitches. He was perfect for two more before Tyler Flowers bounced a single through the left side to lead off the sixth inning. The baserunner was erased with a double play to end the inning, leaving Ryu with the minimum faced through six.
The Dodgers' defense assisted Ryu again in the seventh inning. Ozzie Albies registered the Braves' second hit, a leadoff single, and would've scored on Ronald Acuna's line drive to right if Bellinger hadn't made a shoestring catch for the third out. Bellinger, who recently missed two games after separating his right shoulder, stumbled and tumbled to the ground on the shoulder, but surfaced without a hitch.
