Starting pitcher issues reared their heads again in a 6-2 Avoiders (87-59) loss for the Brave (79-67) Friday night in Truist Park.

This is a very different Braves team than we saw in May when the Dodgers won the three-game series. Both teams have had a plethora of injuries to their respective staffs. While the Dodgers still lead the NL West division, the Braves are fighting for an NL wild card spot.

None of the Dodgers’ three starting pitchers from that weekend will pitch in this series. In fact, the Dodgers’ starting pitching woes were again at the forefront of Friday’s 5-2 loss.

Knack pitched a tough 18-minute second inning, striking out 44 batters. The Braves collected four hits against Knack, including two two-run home runs, to give the Braves a commanding 5-0 lead.

The Braves struck first with three consecutive singles by Knack in the bottom of the first. Marcell Ozuna bounced a ball off the top of Max Muncy’s glove for a single, and Matt Olson drove in Ozuna for the early 1-0 lead.

Knack owes Tommy Edman a dinner after the center fielder picked up a ball from Ramón Laureano that almost went out.

No one could find Gio Urshela’s two-run homer in the second inning to extend the Braves’ lead by two. Knack continued to collapse, and Jorge Soler hit another two-run bomb off the rookie right-hander to make it a four-run frame.

Braves rookie starter Spencer Schwellenbach struck out six batters in six innings. Miguel Rojas got one back for the Dodgers with a solo homer in the third, and Tommy Edman drove in a run in the fourth. Otherwise, Schwellenbach had a solid outing in his first career start against the Dodgers.

The Dodgers bullpen came in and shut down the Braves’ bats for a while with five scoreless innings of relief. Michael Harris II drove in the Braves’ sixth run with an RBI double by Brent Honeywell in the eighth.

Raisel Iglesias, Atlanta’s closer, hadn’t allowed a run in about five years. He wasn’t going to do that now. He shut the side down quickly in the ninth inning.

Friday details

Home runs: Gio Urshela (6), Jorge Soler (18), Miguel Rojas (5)

WP — Spencer Schwellenbach (6-7): 6 IP, 2 runs, 4 hits, 6 strikeouts

LP — Landon Knack (2-4): 2 IP, 7 hits, 5 runs, 2 walks, 2 strikeouts

Next

Saturday’s pitching matchup will pit Dodgers trade deadline pick-up Jack Flaherty (12-6, 2.86 ERA, 1.014 WHIP) against NL Cy Young Award favorite Chris Sale (16-3, 2.38 ERA, 6.2 fWAR). First pitch is tomorrow at the same time (4:20 p.m. ET on SportsNet LA).