The Braves claimed yet another late-inning victory on Wednesday night against the Dodgers, snatching a victory from the jaws of defeat in the 9th inning. Brandon Beachy and Ted Lilly both pitched very well and the bullpens did their job before the final frame, which set up a furious comeback from Atlanta.
Beachy worked 6.1 innings of two-run ball and allowed seven hits and just one walk on 109 pitches. He struck out six batters. He was relieved by Chad Durbin in the seventh inning who recorded an out before being lifted for Eric O'Flaherty who struck out Andre Ethier to end a two-out scoring threat. Lilly was even better, allowing just one run to score on three hits and a walk.
Dan Uggla got Atlanta on the board in the fourth inning with a two-out RBI-single that sailed just over shortstop Dee Gordon. The Dodgers tied it up in the fifth inning on an RBI-groundout from Gordon. Matt Kemp belted -- and I mean BELTED a ball to left field for his 10th home run of the year in the sixth inning, giving LA a 2-1 lead.
Javy Guerra came in the ninth inning to try and close the game out. After a deep flyout from Martin Prado, Freddie Freeman singled to get things going.
In what was a horrific (and potentially fatal) play, Brian McCann lined a fastball right up the middle that ricocheted off Guerra's face. The ball rolled to the third baseman and both runners were safe. Amazingly Guerra remained in the game and appeared to have nothing more than swelling on the right side of his jaw, but I'm sure we'll hear more on any potential lingering effects in the coming days. He remained in the game.
After getting ahead of Uggla with an 0-2 count, the slugging second baseman lined a ball into the right-center field game to tie the game. McCann hustled into third putting runners on the corners with one out and Chipper Jone coming to the plate. The recently-turned-40-year-old Jones drove a ball to right scoring the go-ahead run, and Uggla moved into third base again.
Jason Heyward continued his impressive hitting at the plate and sent a ball down the left field line to score yet another run, giving the Braves a 4-2 lead. Guerra exited the game in favor of Josh Lindblom, who hit a batter before forcing a 4-6-3 double play from Juan Francisco off the bench.
Craig Kimbrel came on for the save in the ninth and struck out his first two batters. Dee Gordon slapped a ball at Chipper, but the veteran third baseman made a clean pick and threw over to first for the final out.
This was a huge win for the Braves, finishing their west coast road trip with a record of 5-2. After starting the season winless in their first four games, Atlanta has now won 12 of their last 15 games. They will have a much needed off-day on Thursday before returning to Turner Field for a four-game series against the Pirates.
For more on the club and their late-inning heroics, check out Talking Chop.