The Los Angeles Dodgers overcame the shock of losing Clayton Kershaw after he completed just two innings, and Kenley Jansen blowing his first save of the season, to beat the Atlanta Braves, 5-4, in extra innings to earn a split in the four-game series.
Kershaw was officially diagnosed with right low back tightness, which is akin to the lower back stiffness that in reality turned into a mild herniated disc that kept him sidelined for 10 weeks. Kershaw threw 21 pitches over two hitless innings, with one walk and two strikeouts.
His formal removal came in the bottom of the second when Trayce Thompson pinch-hit with the bases loaded. Thompson struck out to end the inning, and Ross Stripling replaced Kershaw in the third.
Ender Inciarte’s two-out walk and stolen base led to a run on Brandon Phillips’ slicing double to right field, giving the Braves a 1-0 lead.
While Sean Newcomb managed to escape trouble n the second inning, he wasn’t as fortunate in the fourth. After walking Logan Forsythe and Kiké Hernandez with nobody out, Newcomb surrendered a go-ahead home run to Austin Barnes.
To his credit, that was all Newcomb allowed over six innings in what was just the eighth start of his career. The young left-hander finished with nine strikeouts but also issued five walks.
Having gained plenty of experience last season, the Dodgers navigated a bullpen game with relative ease. Stripling settled in to get through three innings, and he was followed by 1.2 scoreless frames from Luis Avilan to get the game into the seventh.
Josh Fields retired the lone batter faced to finish out that inning, while Pedro Baez recorded the first two outs in the eighth before giving way to Kenley Jansen for a four-out save opportunity.
Cody Bellinger provided his closer with what initially appeared to be breathing room in the bottom of the eighth, crushing a 3-0 pitch for a solo home run. Instead, Bellinger’s homer loomed large as Jansen gave up a game-tying, three-run home run to Matt Adams with two outs in the ninth. The blown save was Jansen’s first since Aug. 26, 2016.
A hit and run on Justin Turner’s single with one out in the bottom of the 10th put runners at the corners. Jim Johnson intentionally walked Bellinger, only to surrender a game-winning hit to Logan Forsythe. The walk-off single was Forsythe’s second this season.
With their win the Dodgers avoided losing a series for the first time since dropping two of three to the Washington Nationals from June 5-7. They salvaged the three-game set in the series finale, which was also started by Kershaw.
