Dodd scattered a pair of hits over three nearly flawless frames, needing just 47 pitches to record nine outs. The 28-year-old lefty gave Atlanta a chance in the early stages of the contest, but they were unable to manufacture enough offense against Tarik Skubal and the Los Angeles bullpen to avoid a series-opening defeat. He figures to be an option for the Braves as an opener for the remainder of the series.
Dodd, 28, has worked multiple innings at times in 2026, but it seems unlikely he’d pitch more than one time through the order. It sounds like Game 1 will be a pure bullpen game for Atlanta on Saturday, and they’ll have to match Tarik Skubal in order to procure a win. Tough task.
Dodd has been on the injured list since April 23rd with spine inflammation, so it’s good news that he wasn’t sidelined for longer. The 28-year-old has allowed one run on three hits in four innings for Atlanta this season.
That doesn’t sound great. Dodd was called up on Tuesday and allowed one run on two hits in one inning while striking out two. It’s a tough break for the 27-year-old, who should be out for a few weeks.
With Raisel Iglesias (shoulder) going on the injured list, Dodd will be called up to take his place on the roster. He won’t be the closer; that will be Robert Suarez, but Dodd will be used to fill middle relief innings.
Dodd was up for one day, threw three shutout innings, and picked up a save. Now he’ll head back to the minors so the Braves can get a fresh arm in their bullpen. We imagine Dodd will get another opportunity soon.
Dodd, who was called up earlier in the day, was allowed to finish after entering a 9-1 game in the seventh, and the Guardians were kind enough to make things easy on him; he got nine outs on 33 pitches while working on just one day of rest after his last Triple-A outing. His previous 2026 highs for innings were two in spring training and 1 2/3 in the minors.
Dodd will provide some multi-inning help for the Atlanta bullpen while he’s here. The team will need to make a change to the rotation as Martin Pérez was designated for assignment as the corresponding move, so this could be a short stint for Dodd on the roster.
Dodd has the most big league experience of the bunch and should get an opportunity at some point during the 2026 season, but he’s not the biggest surprise in this group. That honor goes to JR Ritchie, who posted a stellar 2.25 ERA, 0.58 WHIP and a 14/5 K/BB ratio over 12 innings during Grapefruit League action. Given the injuries in the Braves’ rotation, it’s mildly shocking that he didn’t head north with the big league club.
