Dodgers come through with backs against wall
LOS ANGELES -- The Dodgers allowed four runs in the seventh and trailed the A's 6-3 on Wednesday night, and it looked like the club might drop its fourth straight game for the first time this season.
But the heart of the order put together a five-run rally to lead the Dodgers a 10-7 win over the A's that kept them from falling out of first place for the first time since May 29. The Giants, having won 13 of their last 15 games, sit a half-game back.
After Howie Kendrick drew a walk with two outs and a runner on first in the seventh, the red-hot Adrian Gonzalez came through with an RBI double off the wall. The veteran slugger's clutch hit off A's lefty Drew Pomeranz was the first of four consecutive hits as L.A. took the lead back with five runs. Eight of the Dodgers' runs Wednesday were scored with two outs.
"We're a veteran team. It's always good to see the guys up and down and one after the next put together good at-bats," Gonzalez said. "We were able to do everything we needed to do to win. It's a big win for us."
Video: OAK@LAD: Gonzalez, Bolsinger discuss late rally
Gonzalez, who reached base three times, is hitting .415 since the All-Star break. He's reached base in 10 of 11 games in the second half.
After Gonzalez got the Dodgers within striking distance, Yasmani Grandal knocked in a run with a swinging bunt down the third-base line and pinch-hitter Kiké Hernandez laced a two-run double into the left-center-field gap to put the Dodgers ahead for good.
Video: OAK@LAD: Hernandez doused with bananas after game
"With two strikes, I was really just trying to get a good pitch or get a walk because I knew I had [Yasiel Puig] behind me, and he had taken good at-bats all night," Hernandez said. "[Pomeranz] hung a curveball and I put a good swing on it."
On a night Clayton Kershaw was scratched from his start just a few hours before first pitch, the Dodgers got a solid effort out of his replacement, Mike Bolsinger. The right-hander lasted five innings, allowing eight hits and three walks, but surrendered just two runs.
Bolsinger didn't know when he was going to pitch, whether it be today, Friday or Saturday, but he was effective enough to keep the Dodgers in the game.
"I wasn't able to stay with my routine [since last pitching]. Probably the worst I felt all year," Bolsinger said. "Maybe the fact I didn't know when I would pitch, I have to learn to adjust and I didn't adjust as well as I should have."