Dodgers come back to beat Braves, gain a game on Giants

LOS ANGELES — The Dodgers had a accidental to summation a crippled successful the standings connected Tuesday night.

This time, they roseate to the occasion.

Punctuating their champion period of the play connected the last time of August, the Dodgers rallied for 1 tally successful the seventh inning and different successful the eighth to bushed the Atlanta Braves 3-2 earlier an announced assemblage of 44,952 astatine Dodger Stadium.

The crippled was tied 2-2 erstwhile Corey Seager ended an eight-pitch at-bat against Tyler Matzek with a gap-splitting double, driving successful Mookie Betts with the winning run.

Betts had led disconnected the inning with a walk. He besides deed a solo location tally successful the 4th inning, and robbed a imaginable location tally astatine the extremity of a agelong tally into the close tract country successful the second.

With his mother, Diana Collins, and his young girl successful the stands, Betts reached basal successful 3 of his 4 sheet appearances. A hep wounded constricted Betts to 11 games successful August, but helium managed to lend 5 location runs among his 11 hits. His hep was a non-issue Tuesday.

“We’re a batch amended squad erstwhile he’s retired successful the tract and healthy,” Seager said of Betts.

“He’s a peculiar player,” added pitcher Walker Buehler.

The San Francisco Giants mislaid to the Milwaukee Brewers earlier successful the evening. That allowed the Dodgers to determination to wrong a half-game of archetypal spot ― the closest they person travel to starring the National League West since July 6.

The rivals volition play a important three-game bid this play successful San Francisco.

“We’re conscionable trying to play bully shot close now,” Seager said. “We’re not truly disquieted astir (the standings). We’re trying to triumph series, triumph games, and conscionable grip our ain concern and fto the chips fall.”

August was an antithetic but yet palmy period for the Dodgers. Identifying who constituted “the Dodgers” successful immoderate fixed infinitesimal was arduous. Twenty-seven antithetic players managed to log a sheet appearance. Twenty-five antithetic players threw a pitch. For comparison’s sake, the Dodgers didn’t usage 25 pitchers successful an full play until 1998.

Appropriately, their roster churn continued Tuesday. Two right-handed alleviation pitchers, Ryan Meisinger and Jake Jewell, were acquired via waiver claim. Another, lefty Andrew Vasquez, was acquired successful a insignificant league trade.

Nonetheless, the Dodgers (84-49) finished August with a 21-6 record, their astir palmy period of 2021. Coincidentally the first-place Giants (84-48) had their champion period too, going 19-9. The Dodgers person gained lone 2 and a fractional games connected archetypal spot since the extremity of July.

Tuesday, they handed the shot to their homegrown ace.

Buehler did not let a deed until the 3rd inning. Joc Pederson, a acquainted look with an unfamiliar bottle-blonde mop of hair, made it count, hitting a solo location tally to close tract connected a transportation good supra the onslaught zone.

It was the 3rd crippled successful which the erstwhile teammates person faced each different this season. Pederson went 1-for-6 with a bunt azygous against Buehler earlier helium was traded from the Chicago Cubs to the Braves.

“I cognize I’m going to get a substance from him oregon immoderate now,” Buehler said of Pederson. “People aren’t expected to deed that transportation that way.”

Another erstwhile Dodger, Travis d’Arnaud, drove successful the Braves’ 2nd run. After Betts robbed his imaginable second-inning homer successful close field, d’Arnaud clobbered a treble to the left-field country connected the heels of an Austin Riley azygous successful the 4th inning. Atlanta led 2-0 astatine that point.

The Dodgers began their comeback with Betts’ 19th location tally of the season. That proved to beryllium their lone tally against Braves starter Charlie Morton. The seasoned right-hander allowed lone 3 hits and walks successful six innings, striking retired eight.

“He located well,” Seager said of Morton. “He had america off. He’s got a truly bully curveball. He kept america off-balance with it each night. He did a bully job. Hats disconnected to him.”

Buehler astir matched Morton but settled for a no-decision. He allowed 4 hits and 2 walks portion striking retired eight. By allowing 2 earned runs successful 7 innings, his ERA for the play roseate to 2.05.

In the bottommost of the seventh, AJ Pollock walked and went to 3rd basal connected a azygous to close tract by Cody Bellinger. Pinch hitter Chris Taylor did his job, lifting a two-strike slider into right-center field. Pollock tagged up and easy bushed the propulsion location from Pederson, tying the crippled astatine 2.

Blake Treinen (5-5) pitched a scoreless eighth inning, striking retired the side. Kenley Jansen struck retired 2 successful a scoreless ninth, earning his 30th prevention of the season.