The Los Angeles Dodgers once again fell behind early on Wednesday night at Turner Field, with the Atlanta Braves taking a 1-0 lead in the third inning, and tacking two more runs on in the fourth.
Los Angeles began to claw back into the game in the fifth inning, receiving some help from the Braves. Howie Kendrick’s line-drive single to right field took a tricky hop in front of Nick Markakis and skipped by him.
Kendrick reached third base on the play and scored as Joc Pederson followed with an RBI single. The Dodgers’ bullpen prevented the Braves from extending their lead and it paid off in the sixth when Adrian Gonzalez tied the game at 3-3 with a two-run home run to center field.
With the game still tied, Chase Utley led off the 10th inning with a base hit to right. Utley then got a great jump on Braves reliever Jason Grilli and easily stole second base. Grilli walked Corey Seager on four pitches, and then gave up an RBI double to Justin Turner.
Center fielder Mallex Smith didn’t get a good read on the ball and came up short on a diving catch attempt. However, Smith made the play close enough that Utley had to retreat to second base in preparation to tag.
Once the ball rolled away from Smith, Utley raced around to score standing up. After the extra-innings win, Utley provided some details on his thought process during that pivotal play, via Jon Cooper on MLB.com:
“Nobody out, you have to tag in that situation,” Utley said. “And that was a tough one. That was a ‘tweener. Worst-case scenario, it falls in and you maybe get to third. If he catches it you have to be on third base. So that was my mindset.”
The Dodgers’ decision to re-sign Utley to a one-year, $7 million contract last December came as somewhat of a surprise given the organization’s desire to field a younger roster. However, two-and-a-half weeks into the season, Utley has been one of the club’s best players.
He filled the void at second base with Howie Kendrick beginning the season on the disabled list, and has afforded Dodgers manager Dave Roberts some flexibility in playing Kendrick in left field to offset injuries to Carl Crawford, Andre Ethier and Scott Van Slyke.
On top of sparking a rally, Utley made several defensive plays, recording six assists on the night. The 37 year old is batting .302/.373/.415 with four doubles, one triple and three RBIs in 14 games (12 starts).
Utley, who has batted leadoff in each of his starts, was recently praised by Dodgers third base coach Chris Woodward for his acumen and tenacity on the basepaths.
