The Dodgers spotted Clayton Kershaw an early 4-0 against the red hot Braves. But, because of Kershaw's own wildness, someone needed to step up late.
That someone was James Loney.
Loney greeted reliever Eric O'Flaherty with an RBI single up the middle to take a 5-4 lead, and it held up as the Braves' winning streak ended at an impressive nine games. The Dodgers are now 4-1 on their current 13-game homestand.
Kershaw started out on fire, as he struck out the side in the first, mostly because of a passed ball third strike that Jason Heyward reached on. Heyward, by the way, had his worst night as a pro by going 0-for-5 with five strikeouts.
The offense got going right away, as Rafael Furcal walked to start. On a hit-and-run, Matt Kemp sent Raffy to third with a single. A deep sac-fly RBI from Andre Ethier made the score 1-0. Kemp then stole second, and Loney was given an intentional walk to get to Ronnie Belliard. Bad move, as Belliard's ground rule double scored Kemp and made it 2-0.
After Kershaw worked around two hitters reaching in the second, Jamey Carroll doubled to lead off. Kershaw laid down a bunt that Carroll was nailed at third on. But, Raffy hit an RBI triple to score Kershaw to make it 3-0. A sac-fly RBI by Kemp put the lead at 4-0.
With the way Kershaw was going, it looked like the Dodgers were in for an easy night. However, it was Kershaw's Achilles' heel that caught up to him. Over 6 2/3 innings, he walked five men, including the opposing pitcher. As good as he looked to start the game, he was scuffling soon after.
The Braves cut the lead in half in the third. Martin Prado singled and Oman Infante walked to lead off. Heyward and Troy Glaus struck out, but Yunel Escobar hit an RBI single. Carroll then booted Melky Cabrera's grounder to third to allow Infante to score, and it was 4-2.
Kershaw managed to get into the seventh even as he was struggling at times. Infante singled with one down, then Heyward struck out swinging for two outs. Joe Torre left Kershaw in to pitch to Glaus, but an 0-2 count was turned into a walk. Hong-Chih Kuo was summoned, and Escobar ripped a 3-2 pitch for a two-run double to tie the game.
Fortunately for the Dodgers, their offense didn't go to sleep as they have been the last few games. Ethier doubled with one out and Manny Ramirez was intentionally walked. O'Flaherty came in to face Loney, who promptly hit a sharp one back up the middle to plate Ethier for the 5-4 lead.
Kuo mowed through the Braves in the eighth to get the ball to Jonathan Broxton. Broxton got two strikeouts for his 14th save in 16 chances. In fact, he hasn't blown a save since May 6, converting 13 straight.
The Braves are proving to be a tough win, as they didn't panic from being down four early. They kept plugging away like good teams do. The Dodgers also showed resilience by not folding after blowing the early lead. As I was watching the game, I kept thinking how we'll be seeing these two play again in October.
The next two games feature great pitching matchups. On Saturday, it'll be Chad Billingsley against Tommy Hanson, to be followed on Sunday by John Ely against Tim Hudson. For Billingsley, he bounced back very nicely after the Diamondbacks his three early homers against him on Memorial Day. He'll look for his seventh win.
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