Dodgers 5, Braves 3: More Like Extra WInnings

Apologies for the title. But the Dodgers won in extras! That was fun.

The first four innings felt like I was watching yesterday’s game on replay. The starter, Ross Stripling, struggled and failed to make it out of the fourth, as he gave up an unearned run in the third and two in the fourth. The Dodgers made a Braves pitcher look like a Cy Young candidate as Julio Teheran allowed two baserunners through four.

The fifth inning gave the Dodgers a glimmer of hope as they pushed across a run thanks to Nick Markakis, who went to field a Howie Kendrick single and Kendrick ended up on third. Not exactly how he planned it I’m sure. Joc Pederson cashed him in three pitches later, but the Dodgers still trailed by two.

Fortunately, the bullpen was lights out for the most part. Adam Liberatore got his only batter. J.P. Howell got all five of the batters he faced and Chris Hatcher got his four. Yimi Garcia gave up a single in the eighth and Joe Blanton walked a batter in the ninth, but neither runner got past first.

The Dodgers tied the game in the sixth on an Adrian Gonzalez home run, his second of the season. It also allowed for this tweet to exist, so I doubt there’s gonna be a home run this season that I love more.

The bullpen got the game into extras, when Atlanta helped the Dodgers out with another defensive miscue. After Chase Utley ripped a single to right and stole second, Corey Seager drew a walk to bring up Justin Turner. Turner hit a semi-routine fly ball to center, but Mallex Smith took a tough route and couldn’t make the diving catch. Turner was credited with a double, and Utley came around to score. After an intentional walk and a strikeout, Yasmani Grandal singles to score Seager, but the rally was ended on a busted bases-loaded squeeze and a fly out. Kenley Jansen came in and shut the door giving the Dodgers their second extra inning win of the season.

It took a while, but it was nice for the Dodgers to wake up. I don’t want to harp on the Braves, but they’re clearly not trying to field a competitive team this season. Their farm system is stacked and they’re going to be a force in a few years, but the Dodgers needed to take care of business against lower-tier teams and they did so today.

The Dodgers look for the series victory tomorrow with Clayton Kershaw on the hill. That’s always a fun sentence to write. First pitch is scheduled for 9:10 AM PST. That’s never a fun sentence to write.