Atlanta 3, LA Dodgers 2
When: 10:10 PM ET, Wednesday, May 27, 2015
Where: Dodger Stadium, Los Angeles, California
Temperature:
67°
Umpires:
Home -
Paul Nauert, 1B -
Ed Hickox, 2B -
Mike Estabrook, 3B -
Dana DeMuth
Attendance:
37837
By The Sports Xchange
LOS ANGELES -- The Atlanta Braves were relieved to depart with one win at Dodger Stadium before kicking off a four-game series in San Francisco against the defending World Series champion Giants on Thursday.
Center fielder Cameron Maybin homered, and the Braves avoided a three-game sweep by holding off the Los Angeles Dodgers 3-2 Wednesday night before a crowd of 37,837.
Braves starter Alex Wood (3-2) limited the Dodgers to one run in seven innings, striking out six, walking two and scattering seven hits as Atlanta (23-23) snapped a two-game skid.
"Mechanically, in terms of all my stuff, this was the best it's been," said Wood, who missed his previous turn in the rotation due to stomach flu. "This is a tough place to play. They've got a great ballclub, leading their division. Really good team win tonight."
Atlanta manager Fredi Gonzalez was as pleased as anyone in the Braves' locker room regarding Wood's performance. The left-hander hadn't pitched since May 16, when he beat the Miami Marlins.
"We didn't know what was going to happen," Gonzalez said, "but he got his strength. He was really, really effective with his pitches, and it was a good one to win."
Reliever Jim Johnson pitched a perfect eighth, fanning two batters, before closer Jason Grilli survived a rocky ninth for his 14th save.
Grilli served up a solo home run to Alex Guerrero, the left fielder's ninth this season, and a single to pinch hitter Andre Ethier. Catcher A.J. Ellis' grounder forced Ethier at second before Grilli induced pinch hitter Alberto Callaspo, making his Dodgers debut, to fly out to center.
Los Angeles (28-18) won four of its previous five before Wednesday's loss.
An eighth-inning wild pitch by reliever Adam Liberatore, scoring shortstop Andrelton Simmons, allowed the Braves to take a 2-1 lead with two outs. Right fielder Nick Markakis added a run-scoring, ground-rule double to give Atlanta a two-run advantage.
Los Angeles reliever Chris Hatcher (1-4) was charged with both runs on one hit and a walk after he failed to retire a batter in the eighth.
Dodgers starter Zack Greinke gave up a run on three hits with nine strikeouts and two walks in six innings. He retired the last 11 batters he faced before turning the game over to the bullpen.
"No question, Zack's been terrific," Dodgers manager Don Mattingly said. "You know what, he's been that the last couple of years. Clayton (Kershaw) has overshadowed many of the things that Zack's been able to do. Zack's been really, really good, but he doesn't get quite the attention (that Kershaw does)."
Atlanta third baseman Juan Uribe faced his former teammates for the first time. Uribe, who was part of a six-player exchange between the two clubs earlier Wednesday that included Callaspo, went 0-for-3 with two strikeouts and an intentional walk.
"That's a special guy, and I'm glad that we have him on our club," said Gonzalez, who added that Dodgers legend Tommy Lasorda spoke with him before the game and had nothing but praise for Uribe.
Maybin pounded a Greinke 3-2 fastball for a solo home run to center with one out in the third inning, giving Atlanta a 1-0 lead. It was Maybin's fifth homer of the season.
"Fastball, up, out and over (the plate)," said Maybin, who managed just one home run a year in injury-plagued 2013 and 2014 seasons with the San Diego Padres before joining the Braves this season.
Dodgers shortstop Jimmy Rollins singled to lead off the fourth. Three batters later, Rollins tied the game at 1 when he scored on Justin Turner's RBI single. The ball bounced into shallow right after Simmons appeared to get a glove on the ball but failed to grasp it.
NOTES: Atlanta INF Chris Johnson, who was out since May 1 due to a broken left hand, was activated from the 15-day disabled list, but he didn't start the game. Johnson, who i
Top Game Performances
Starting Pitchers
Atlanta |
|
LA Dodgers |
Alex Wood
|
Player |
Zack Greinke
|
Win |
W/L |
No Decision |
7.0 |
IP |
6.0 |
6 |
Strikeouts |
9 |
7 |
Hits |
3 |
1.29 |
ERA |
1.50 |
Team Stats Summary
Team |
Hits |
HR |
TB |
Avg |
LOB |
K |
RBI |
BB |
SB |
Errors |
Atlanta
|
5 |
1 |
9 |
.161 |
16 |
12 |
2 |
5 |
1 |
0 |
LA Dodgers
|
9 |
1 |
12 |
.265 |
14 |
8 |
2 |
2 |
1 |
0 |