LOS ANGELES -- Freddie Freeman reached a significant career milestone on Friday night, hitting his 100th home run as a member of the Dodgers to help secure a 3-1 victory over the Braves -- the team with which he spent the first 12 seasons of his career -- at Dodger Stadium.

The solo home run in the sixth inning provided an important insurance run for the Dodgers, who were looking to build momentum as they opened a high-profile series against an Atlanta team that arrived in Los Angeles with a 26-12 record, tied with the Cubs for best in MLB. Freeman continues to be a consistent presence against his former club; with the blast off Chris Sale, he now has six home runs and a .977 OPS against the Braves since joining Los Angeles.

“I haven’t done that in a month,” Freeman said of the swing he put on a Sale fastball. “To put a swing like that … obviously, my work has been better the last few days.”

That work involved a distinct mechanical adjustment. During the previous series in Houston, Freeman began utilizing a foot turn in his stance to help his hip stay closed, allowing the ball to travel deeper into the zone.

“I've always done little tweaks mentally [and] externally. This time, I just did a foot turn. … I've thought sometimes, you got to think differently up in the box. And I went with a foot turn in. And it's worked. I'm not going to try and figure it out, but it's working right now.”

Manager Dave Roberts credited the veteran’s willingness to evolve.

"It is good for me to see him kind of change some things," Roberts said. "He’s a smart player and understanding that at some point in a career, you’ve got to make some adjustments."

The offensive production on Friday followed a 10-game stretch where the Dodgers averaged 7.7 runners left on base per game. Entering the series, the lineup had focused on improving efficiency with runners in scoring position, an area Roberts noted as a key factor in the night's outcome.

“It was encouraging,” Roberts said of the situational hitting. “Shohei [Ohtani] gets a two-out hit ... and then obviously [Kyle] Tucker gets the double. We gotta get those hits. That was really good, especially against a guy like Sale.”

Miguel Rojas noted the team's ability to elevate their play when the stakes increase.

“I don't know what it is about this team that when a big series comes up, we always find the way to kind of lock in and play our game,” Rojas said. “The damage came from the left-handed hitters today. It's pretty cool to see the team understanding the situation.”

On the mound, Emmet Sheehan provided a much-needed lift for a rotation recently impacted by those health concerns. Sheehan struck out seven batters over 4 1/3 innings, allowing just one earned run on six hits. While his velocity has been a point of discussion throughout the early season, he relied on a four-pitch mix to navigate a potent Braves lineup.

"I think it’s a testament to Will [Smith] and to the pitching coaches, starting off with a good game plan," Sheehan said. "They put together some really good at-bats, long at-bats. Definitely wish I was a little more efficient, but yeah, [I] felt good."

Roberts called the outing something for Sheehan to build on.

"I thought Emmet threw the ball as well as he’s thrown the ball all year as far as stuff [and] competing," Roberts said. "He did everything that we had hoped."

The Dodgers’ bullpen was even more effective, combining for 4 2/3 scoreless innings to preserve the lead. Alex Vesia, Kyle Hurt, Will Klein and Brock Stewart limited Atlanta to just three hits over the final frames before Tanner Scott closed it out in the ninth.

Offensively, the Dodgers manufactured runs early. In the second inning, Tucker doubled to score Teoscar Hernández, who had reached on a single. In the fifth, Ohtani added an RBI single to score Rojas, who had reached on a throwing error.

While it is only May, for Roberts, the narrow margin and the quality of play on both sides carried the weight of a much later date in the calendar.

"Tonight [felt like] a typical sort of October game," Roberts said. "You’re going to see really good pitching ... on the margins you gotta be able to take advantage of some mistakes. You gotta prevent runs and use the arms in the ‘pen that you got. And we prevented runs tonight and we got just enough hits."

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