Kershaw surrendered a season-high 10 hits, but the only run he gave up over eight innings came courtesy of the consecutive doubles Erick Aybar and Daniel Castro notched to begin the bottom of the first inning. The Dodgers southpaw notched 10 strikeouts and induced a timely double play off Wisler's bat after the Braves began the second inning with three consecutive singles.
Unfazed by the lingering effects of Sunday's six-pitch emergency relief appearance or his matchup against Kershaw, Wisler limited the Dodgers to one unearned run as he threw a career-high 115 pitches over 6 2/3 innings. Jim Johnson escaped a bases-loaded threat in the eighth inning, and Arodys Vizcaino pitched around Chase Utley's double in a scoreless ninth.
"I think our record this year is not a great indication of how we've competed and how we've played most of the year," Braves outfielder Drew Stubbs said. "I think we could very easily have a winning record right now. We've been in most every game. We just have to keep moving forward."
MOMENTS THAT MATTERED
Roll with the punchouts: Dodgers starter Clayton Kershaw worked plenty out of the stretch, but he made pitches when he needed to. Kershaw allowed 10 hits, equal to the total of his previous three starts, but allowed only the one run. Three times he ended threats with strikeouts. He struck out Mallex Smith just ahead of Wisler's double-play groundout in the second inning.
Kershaw's impressive outing
LAD@ATL: Kershaw fans 10 over eight solid innings
Clayton Kershaw pitches eight innings, allowing one run on ten hits and one walk while striking out 10 batters
Up to the challenge: Wisler produced one of the best starts of his young career and could have easily completed seven scoreless innings. The unearned run he surrendered came courtesy of an errant first-inning throw made by Adonis Garcia, who accounted for two of Atlanta's three errors. The third miscue occurred when Kershaw reached first after Francoeur and Smith collided in right-center field with two outs in the seventh. But Francoeur took care of this when his strong throw denied Kershaw's attempt to score on Corey Seager's single off Eric O'Flaherty.
Baserunning mistakes: Though Kershaw surrendered a double-digit hit total for just the fourth time in 246 career starts, the Braves had some baserunning blunders and weren't able to take advantage. Castro quieted the first-inning threat when he attempted to extend his double into a triple. Freddie Freeman delivered a leadoff single, but then briefly came off the second-base bag as he attempted to advance on a passed ball, just before Garcia notched what could have been a go-ahead single in the sixth inning.
Castro's RBI double
LAD@ATL: Castro hits an RBI double to left field
Daniel Castro hits an RBI double into left field to tie the ballgame and is thrown out at third base
Off-the-benchmark: Grandal was supposed to be getting a day off. Instead he came off the bench and gave the Dodgers a huge lift, driving in the go-ahead and what proved to be the winning run in the 10th inning with a double to left-center field. Grandal went 3-for-4 with two RBIs over the final two games of the series and is now hitting a robust .438 for the season (7-for-16).
QUOTABLE
"I'm really proud of our club. They stuck their nose in there and got 10 hits off Kershaw. We just couldn't get that one to cross the plate. You can see why [Kershaw] is what he is. He elevates his game when he gets men on base and people in scoring position. His [velocity] goes up and his breaking ball gets better. That's why he is a true ace." -- Braves manager Fredi Gonzalez.
REPLAY REVIEWS
The first of this game's two influential replay reviews occurred in the first inning when the Braves' Castro tried to extend his RBI double into a triple, and he was tagged for the first out of the inning. After a Braves challenge, the call was confirmed.
In the top of the seventh with the score tied at 1, Kershaw was tagged out attempting to score on Seager's single, after a strong throw to the plate from Jeff Francouer. The Dodgers challenged, but the call stood.
Francoeur throws Kershaw out
LAD@ATL: Francoeur throws Kershaw out at home
Jeff Francoeur fields a single and fires home to throw out Clayton Kershaw and the Dodgers challenge, but the call stands in the 7th
WHAT'S NEXT
Dodgers: After getting a one-series respite, the Dodgers resume divisional play, getting their first look at the Colorado Rockies this weekend to conclude their six-game road trip. L.A. was 4-5 in Denver last season, but dropped the final four games and five of the last six. Scott Kazmir (1-1, 6.43) will try to get back on track, with first pitch scheduled for 5:40 p.m. PT at Coors Field.
Braves: Bud Norris will take the mound when the Braves open a three-game series against the reigning National League champion Mets on Friday at 7:35 p.m. ET. New York will counter with Matt Harvey, who has allowed opponents a .365 on-base percentage during his first three starts.
Watch every out-of-market regular-season game live on MLB.TV.
Mark Bowman is a reporter for MLB.com. Jon Cooper is a contributor to MLB.com. This story was not subject to the approval of Major League Baseball or its clubs.
Grand finale: Yasmani plates winner for LA
0 commentaires:
Enregistrer un commentaire