The Dodgers capped off a horrific week with a much-needed win over the Atlanta Braves on Sunday, with Walker Buehler’s contributions keeping his team in contention for the win.

It was the first time since May 31 that Buehler has thrown at least six innings in a start, while allowing fewer than two runs since a scoreless six-inning performance against the Cincinnati Reds on May 18. It’s a brief but huge sigh of relief for a rotation that has struggled in the early innings in the first three games of the series against Atlanta.

Buehler’s game on Sunday has manager Dave Roberts’ confidence in his starter’s ability to salvage his season heading into the upcoming playoffs, according to Bill Plunkett of the Orange County Register.

“It was huge,” Roberts said of Buehler’s performance. “Like I said, I believe in who he is. But you have to get results as a player to build that confidence, that momentum. This was a big step. It really was. I’m talking about performance and results at this point in the season and the results were very good.”

Links

After six solid innings from Buehler on Sunday, the Dodgers opened the floodgates, scoring nine unanswered runs against Atlanta, including three straight home runs by Teoscar Hernández, Tommy Edman and Max Muncy.

Mookie Betts, who gave the Dodgers the lead with an RBI single, spoke about the ninth inning in which the team scored seven runs. According to Fabian Ardaya of The Athletic, the team remained confident in its mission to avoid a fourth straight loss.

“Every time you break through, it’s a sigh of relief,” Betts said. “It’s hard to keep the confidence. But I think we’ve done a really good job of really keeping the confidence and knowing we can do it, and keeping the pressure on until we break through.”

Jason Heyward has been on the roster as the Houston Astro for three weeks now and his presence in the locker room has been felt immediately as the team seeks an eighth straight division title.

Former Dodgers and now Houston reliever Caleb Ferguson spoke about the impact Heyward has had on his new team, according to Mike DiGiovanna of the Los Angeles Times.

“When you see a player who’s had a career like his commit to every pitch, whether he’s playing or not, it can be eye-opening,” Ferguson said. “It’s like, ‘Wow, OK, everything they do is intentional,’ and I think that’s good.”