Corey Seager Crushes Three Home Runs as Dodgers Beat Braves 4-2

LOS ANGELES – The Curtain Call Kid.

Corey Seager entered the Dodgers record books with three home runs as Los Angeles defeated the Atlanta Braves 4-2 on Friday night at Dodger Stadium.

Seager was the King of the World on Friday as he became the first Dodgers rookie since Don Demeter in 1959 to hit three home runs in a game in their first full season.

"It didn't matter where it was thrown, it looked like it was on a tee," Seager said of his at-bats. "Hopefully it will be like that tomorrow too."

Seager also becomes just the 20^th big league shortstop since 1913 to have three home runs in a game and the second Dodger since Kevin Elster in 2000.

"It's exciting to be part of the history here," Seager said of the records. "It was a lot of fun tonight."

Seager floated like a butterfly and stung like a bee against Braves pitching all night as he hit solo shots in the fourth, sixth and eighth innings, respectively.

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"I was locked in," Seager said. "I saw everything right out of the hand, it was one of those days where everything clicked."

The rookie shortstop now leads the Dodgers in homers (12), RBI (31), hits (62), and runs (36).

"We're lucky to have him," said Seager's manager Dave Roberts. "He's just a kids that's unfazed, whether it's a good spot or the notoriety. He just wants to play baseball."

Trayce Thompson also homered for the Dodgers as the team roughed up Braves' starter Julio Teheran who has been nearly unhittable over the past month.

Teheran (1-6) had a 0.89 ERA since April 25^th, but allowed three runs, on three hits (all home runs) with seven strikeouts in 5 and 2/3^rd innings for the Braves.

After hitting his first home run on a change up, Seager gave Teheran the old rope-a-dope as he sent a slider over the wall in centerfield to give the Dodgers the lead and put the Braves pitcher on the hook for the loss.

Two innings later, Seager delivered the knockout blow when he sent a fastball from Hunter Cervenka into the left field corner for an opposite field home run. After he was in the dugout, fans gave Seager a standing ovation, demanding a curtain call, something the shortstop humbly obliged.

"That put a smile on my face," Seager said of the fans asking for a curtain call. "That's something that you really enjoy and I soaked it in."

Atlanta knocked around Dodgers starter Kenta Maeda in the first few innings as they staked an early 2-0 lead off the Japanese right-hander.

Maeda (5-3) issued a two-out walk to Freddie Freeman in the first inning, and after a passed ball, surrendered an RBI single to Adonis Garcia to give the Braves the lead.

The Braves continued to beat up Maeda in the second as he allowed three singles in the inning to put himself behind the eight-ball, but Maeda would settle down, allowing just one hit the rest of the game as he pitched into the seventh inning.

The right-hander allowed two runs (one earned) on six hits with five strikeouts in 6 and 1/3 innings.

Kenley Jansen pitched the ninth and recorded his 16^th save of the season as he has tossed scoreless relief in 20 of his last 22 appearances.

Players of the Game:

Corey Seager: Three home runs.
Trayce Thompson: Home run.
Kenta Meada: 1 ER, 6 hits, 5 strikeouts in 6.1 IP

Three Takeaways:

1. The Greatest: Corey Seager became the first Dodger with a three-homer game since Adrian Gonzalez on April 8, 2015 against San Diego and the first rookie in franchise history since Don Demeter on April 21, 1959 against San Francisco.

Corey Seager is the 6th-youngest player in MLB history to hit 3 home runs in a game (via @EliasSports) pic.twitter.com/POsqzVo0rp — ESPN Stats & Info (@ESPNStatsInfo) June 4, 2016

2. The Louisville Lip: In his first at-bat, Corey Seager broke his bat on a ground out and replaced it with a new Louisville Slugger. The new bat worked wonders as Seager hit three homers in his next three at-bats respectively.

Seager broke his bat on his 1st AB, grabbed a new Louisville slugger and hit 3 homers with it. Thanks Bat. #Dodgers pic.twitter.com/XH1QcDejGA — Michael J. Duarte (@michaeljduarte) June 4, 2016

3. The People's Champion: The Dodgers hit four home runs on the night that one of the greatest boxers of all-time, Muhammad Ali, passed away at the age of 74. The champion will be missed.