Dodgers get walk-off win after losing Kershaw

July 23rd, 2017

LOS ANGELES -- The Dodgers rallied for a wild 5-4 walk-off win over the Braves on Sunday with 's one-out RBI single in the bottom of the 10th, overcoming the loss of MLB wins leader after two innings to another lower back injury and closer 's first blown save of the year.
"We won a game, and we've got to make sure Clayton's fine, and we're holding out hope," said Dodgers manager Dave Roberts.

Forsythe's bases-loaded hit up the middle past former Dodgers reliever Jim Johnson scored , giving the Dodgers a split of the four-game series.

"I think it's been a good series for us, to battle back from two losses at the start," said Forsythe, who went 2-for-4 with a double, walk and run scored.
Longtime Dodgers villain Matt Adams slugged a three-run homer off Jansen with two outs in the top of the ninth inning to tie the game at 4, after the Dodgers had taken a 4-1 lead on a three-run homer from in the fourth inning and a solo shot by in the eighth.

Kershaw, who missed 2 1/2 months last year with a herniated disk, left with lower right back tightness suffered while warming up for the second inning after an eight-pitch first inning. Atlanta starter (1-6) struck out nine but also issued five walks in six innings, two of them scoring ahead of the homer by Barnes inside the left-field foul pole on an 0-2 pitch.

In his last four starts, Newcomb has faced against the Astros, the American League leader in wins, the Nationals, who sit in first place in the National League East, defending World Series champions Chicago Cubs and the Dodgers, who have the best record in baseball.

"You know he's a young pitcher," Braves manager Brian Snitker said about Newcomb. "And he's learning and he's went up against some good ball clubs lately and held his own and gave us a chance. The homer, you can live with that. [Barnes] hooked it around the pole, but the walks leading up to that is what hurt."
MOMENTS THAT MATTERED
Heartbreaker: Adams' 15th homer since joining the Braves on May 20 cashed in two key singles by Freddie Freeman and former Dodger Matt Kemp that opened the inning. Adams hit a 95.1-mph cutter, Jansen's fastest pitch of the game, according to Statcast™.
"You always feel good about him up there," Snitker said. "He has that potential. He's got a lot of big hits before for us so it was good." More >
Could have been worse: Newcomb escaped a second-inning jam while the game was still scoreless. Forsythe doubled with one out, walked and with two outs walked to load the bases. But , pinch-hitting for Kershaw, struck out on three pitches.

QUOTABLE
"We wanted to take the series. This is a good club, but we feel we're a good club too. We're a second-place team. We're OK, too. The guys hung in there again. It goes right down to the very end with this group. They kept grinding, Freddie [Freeman] and Matt [Kemp], they have big at-bats off Jansen, it hurts because we wanted to win this one and win the series." --- Snitker, on series split
"It [stinks]." -- Bellinger, on Kershaw's injury
SOUND SMART WITH YOUR FRIENDS
Bellinger's 27 home runs are second-most for a rookie in franchise history behind Mike Piazza's 35 in 1993.
WHAT'S NEXT
Braves: Veteran R.A. Dickey looks to win his first game since June 24 when the Braves take on the D-backs at 9:40 p.m. ET. Dickey struggled in his last outing, giving up seven hits and four runs.
Dodgers: is expected to be activated off the disabled list and start Monday's 7:10 p.m. PT series opener. Ryu has been sidelined by a left foot contusion suffered in his most recent start, June 28, when he was struck by a line drive. He has never faced Minnesota.
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