Kershaw lowers ERA to 1.46 in 8th victory

Kershaw scored the first run of the game after his one-out infield single and a two-out walk by Corey Seager in the third inning. Justin Turner singled up the middle, and Kershaw scored from second despite Seager's risky attempt to go from first to third, barely eluding third baseman Adonis Garcia's tag with a headfirst slide before Kershaw touched home.

Norris, subbing for the injured Mike Foltynewicz, allowed one run in five innings but slipped to 1-7, as the Dodgers added three insurance runs against the Braves' bullpen in the eighth on Joc Pederson's RBI bunt single, an A.J. Ellis sacrifice fly and pinch-hitter Yasmani Grandal's RBI single.

MOMENTS THAT MATTERED
Walking and running: Trayce Thompson, who homered and doubled Friday night, walked three times and stole three bases Saturday night, both career highs. His third swipe came on a double-steal in the eighth inning that put runners at second and third with one out, allowing Thompson to score the third run of the game on Ellis' sac fly.

Exceeding expectations : Norris had not started since he was removed from the Braves' rotation with a 8.74 ERA in late April, and he had thrown more than 30 pitches just twice within the past 37 days. But the veteran who seems to thrive in the underdog role managed to minimize damage throughout this 91-pitch effort. He stranded two runners with Adrian Gonzalez's groundout to end third inning and pitched around each of the three walks issued during his final two innings.

That's a balk: At least first-base umpire Joe West thought so when he called one on Kershaw during a pickoff attempt of Jeff Francoeur in the second inning. Kershaw argued for a moment, while second baseman Chase Utley distracted West. It was Kershaw's third balk of the year, tying a career high, but Francoeur was stranded at third base.

Missed opportunities : Francoeur had three hits in the four previous at-bats recorded against Kershaw this year before he followed Freddie Freeman's fourth-inning leadoff single with a strikeout. The Braves also put two on with just one out in the sixth inning, but Kershaw escaped again when Freeman flied out to left field and Francoeur produced a sharp grounder that found shortstop Seager's glove.

YOU'RE SAFE, BUT HE'S OUT
Nick Markakis retreated to first base after Dodgers center fielder Pederson made a sliding catch of Garcia's liner in the seventh inning. But to his surprise and seemingly most everybody, third-base umpire Mark Ripperger had ruled that Pederson didn't make the catch. Thus, the Dodgers ended up retiring Markakis with a forceout at second base and Garcia remained at first base.

AFTER FURTHER REVIEW
The Braves were unsuccessful on a challenge they issued when Thompson stole second base in the fourth inning. The safe call was allowed to stand after a two-minute, 47-second review did not conclusively show whether shortstop Chase d'Arnaud tagged Thompson.

West initiated a crew-chief review after Ender Inciarte was thrown out attempting to steal second base in the eighth inning, but that call would also stand after a review that lasted two minutes and 16 seconds.

WHAT'S NEXT
Braves: Atlanta will send Matt Wisler to the mound for Sunday's series finale, which is set to begin at 4:10 p.m. ET. Wisler limited the Dodgers to four hits and one unearned run over 62/3 innings on April 21. He has produced a 2.80 ERA and limited opponents to a .205 batting average over his past eight starts.

Dodgers: A nagging wrist/thumb injury seems healed as Scott Kazmir, who starts for the Dodgers in Sunday's 1:10 p.m. PT series finale, is 2-0 with a 2.73 ERA in his last four starts. He's never faced the Braves, but he held the potent Cubs to one hit over six scoreless innings in a no-decision his last time out.

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Ken Gurnick has covered the Dodgers for MLB.com since 2001. This story was not subject to the approval of Major League Baseball or its clubs.

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Kershaw lowers ERA to 1.46 in 8th victory