Dodgers overpower Braves with three homers
LOS ANGELES -- Corey Seager, Chase Utley and Chris Taylor homered Saturday night at Dodger Stadium as the Dodgers returned to their slugging and winning ways with a 6-2 victory over the Braves, snapping their two-game losing streak.
Dodgers starter Rich Hill (7-4) struck out eight in 6 1/3 innings and is 4-0 in his career against Atlanta. He is 4-1 with a 1.93 ERA since modifying his delivery six starts back. Braves starter Julio Teheran (7-8) is 0-6 in his career against the Dodgers.
"He wanted to be the stopper, you could see it," Dodgers manager Dave Roberts said of Hill, who pitched through a respiratory infection that left him hoarse in the postgame interview. "You look back to that St. Louis start [on May 24] -- from now to that start, [the difference] is stark. I'm not going to say I wasn't hoping, which isn't a good strategy. But Rich and [pitching coach] Rick Honeycutt, they worked it out."
Seager (No. 16) and Utley (No. 6) hit solo home runs in the first and third innings, respectively. Hill plunked Teheran with a 1-2 pitch to lead off the top of the fifth. Teheran was doubled to third by Johan Camargo and scored on Freddie Freeman's groundout. Former Dodger Matt Kemp singled home Camargo to tie the game at 2. The Dodgers took the lead on Yasiel Puig's two-out RBI infield single in the sixth inning.
"It's tough," Braves manager Brian Snitker said. "They keep coming at you. I said last night, even in that game, we got the big lead and you just never feel comfortable against these guys because they're so aggressive and they just keep coming at you."
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Taylor -- a defensive replacement in the seventh inning -- added a two-run triple in the eighth inning to his opposite-field homer in the seventh, which was his 12th on the season to go with a .310 average.
• Taylor continues to improve
MOMENTS THAT MATTERED
Line drive in the box score: With two out in the bottom of the sixth and Yasmani Grandal on third base, the Dodgers took the lead on Puig's 40-foot infield single that was fielded by Teheran, whose only play was home. Teheran's throw beat Grandal to the plate, but the ball flew out of Braves catcher Tyler Flowers' glove as he attempted the tag, allowing Grandal to score the tie-breaking run and Puig to take second base on Flowers' error.
"There's nothing I could tell you I would do differently tomorrow on it," Flowers said. "It's a quick play. Julio is throwing it from the opposite side. Catch it. Try and tag him. Bam. There was time to catch the ball and it happened to be right where he was and he ran through it."
Setting up just fine:Pedro Baez took over for Hill with one out in the seventh inning and, while the save was still in order, served as a perfect bridge by retiring all five batters he faced with one strikeout.
QUOTABLE
"It's much more fun when you don't [stink]." -- Hill
"It's a good one. It's the old-school, true curveball. It's not rolling in there. Gets down to 73, it's got a lot of bite. He was getting a lot of borderline calls, I would call them, but he recognized that and started using that to his advantage that makes it a little more challenging." -- Flowers on Hill's curveball
SOUND SMART WITH YOUR FRIENDS
The Dodgers have won 45 consecutive games in which they held a lead of any size at any time, a Major League record.
WHAT'S NEXT
Braves: It's a getaway game for the Braves and they will hand the ball to rookie Sean Newcomb, who is looking to earn his first win since June 27. The righty is 1-5 this season with a 4.86 ERA. First pitch slated for 4:10 p.m. ET.
Dodgers: It's Clayton Kershaw Day, with a 1:10 p.m. PT first pitch. He's made 14 consecutive starts without a loss, going 11-0 with a 1.84 ERA and a .193 opponents' average, 122 strikeouts and 20 walks since May 6. He's 3-0 with a 1.52 in eight career starts against the Braves.
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