The Atlanta Braves dropped the series opener to the Los Angeles Dodgers 3-1, but even in the loss, they had a handful of encouraging signs. Near the top of the list was an 8th inning appearance for struggling southpaw Aaron Bummer. The lefty had given up four earned runs in his last 3.1 innings pitched and badly needed an outing to build on. That is exactly what Friday night's effort appeared to be, as the degree of difficulty was never going to get any higher from a talent standpoint.
Bummer was brought to the mound to face a trio of Shohei Ohtani, Will Smith, and Freddie Freeman. While the contact was loud, the reliever found a way to get a clean inning, inducing three straight flyouts and sending the game to the final frame, giving the offense a fighting chance.
While things didn't fall Atlanta's way, the team has to hope that this proves to be a building block for Bummer. If the Braves can find a way to get the southpaw to be a reliable source once again, the bullpen has a chance to be truly elite with Raisel Iglesias, Robert Suarez, and Dylan Lee setting the tone for the arms behind them.
Bummer and Tyler Kinley are the biggest swing pieces in Atlanta's pen, with the performance of these two deciding if it is a good or great Atlanta pen. Reynaldo Lopez could be thrown into this conversation as well, with the former starter being demoted into a relief role that is still a bit unclear.
Braves Get Positive Signs from Aaron Bummer Despite Taking Series Opening Loss
Regardless, this was a great step for Bummer and something that the Braves are going to have the lefty attempt to build on over the next weeks of the season. As much as you would like Atlanta to take the opener against the Dodgers to set the tone, there is still a silver lining in this game and plenty of divisional space for Atlanta to stumble a bit.
In a long season, a week like this one was inevitable, and the Braves still have a long road ahead. For Bummer, things were increasingly looking as if he were on borrowed time with Atlanta's wealth of pitching making each rotation and bullpen spot highly contested. This outing buys a bit more grace and breathes life into the thought that there is a better season ahead.
Bummer gave up 22 and 23 earned runs the previous two seasons, but has already given up seven in 2026. This points to the fact that some positive regression was due, and this appears to be the path we are on if Friday's performance was any indication.
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