Braves' turn for late drama in L.A.

By David O'Brien

The Atlanta Journal-Constitution

Los Angeles -- If Thursday's loss to the Los Angeles Dodgers left the Braves stunned after an abrupt ninth-inning collapse, Friday's marathon win saw them careen from frustrated and furious early to exhausted but satisfied late.

Very late.

After fighting back from a three-run deficit to send the game to extra innings, the Braves used a three-run homer from Ryan Church to cap a four-run 12th inning that lifted them to a 9-5 win at Dodger Stadium.

"It showed what this team is made of, the character," Church said of the comeback win, fueled by Kelly Johnson's two-run homer in the seventh, Garret Anderson's tying single in the ninth, and Yunel Escobar's tie-breaking, two-out single in the 12th.

"All the bullpen guys picked up [starter Jair Jurrjens], and we had some big hits," Johnson said. "That's how we're going to get to the playoffs, if we get there."

The Braves made up a game in the wild-card standings, where they are fifth, 4-1/2 games behind co-leaders Colorado and San Francisco.

"That was incredible -- those guys never gave up," said third baseman Chipper Jones, who was scratched after straining his left oblique in batting practice.

He watched his teammates overcome adversity and win in extra innings without him, and he came away encouraged. Jones said he's doubtful for the rest of the four-game series that ends Sunday but doesn't think he'll miss a week.

"Kelly gave us some hope," Jones said of the comeback. "We just felt like we were going to find some way to tie it. [Nate] McLouth got the walk [and a stolen base] in the ninth and Garret got the big hit."

After Escobar's go-ahead single in the 12th, Church's low liner to the right-field seats sealed the deal for the Braves in game that lasted 4 hours, 22 minutes, ending at 2:26 a.m. Eastern Time.

"A comeback like that, I think proves to the rest of the league that we're not going away," said reliever Peter Moylan (4-2), who came through under pressure for the second night in a row.

After stranding multiple runners in two innings Thursday, Moylan did it again Friday when he intentionally walked Andre Ethier to load the bases with two out in the 11th. Tony Abreu's groundout ending the inning.

Manager Bobby Cox and Jurrjens watched the final seven innings on television after being ejected in the fifth inning. They were tossed after a play that was so unusual and appeared, at least, to be so unfair toward the Braves, the venerable Dodgers broadcaster Vin Scully called it "a shame" when Cox was ejected.

"If he ever gets thrown out tonight, he's got the right," Scully said on the air as Cox came onto the field to question what happened after home-plate umpire Eric Cooper gave a strike signal with his fist on a 3-1 pitch to Ethier.

Catcher Brian McCann caught the pitch and rifled a perfect throw to second base to nail Rafael Furcal trying to steal. Or so it seemed.

Second-base umpire Chuck Meriwether, who saw the same things others saw — Cooper signaling strike — called Furcal out at second.

But Cooper waved off the out when he announced the pitch was ball four, not a strike. That put Blake on first and Furcal on second.

Cox was beside himself. Livid.

"I don't know what he tried to tell me," Cox said, when asked afterward what explanation Cooper had given him for the ball call after he'd signaled strike. "These [umpires] are scrutinized so much, you hate to say anything [critical].

"I don't know. I've never seen that before."

The score was 2-all at the time. It didn't stay that way long.

Two batters, effectively erasing an out at second, Casey Blake hit a three-run homer off Jurrjens to put the Dodgers ahead 5-2. Jurrjens was replaced at that point and was ejected for making comments directed at Cooper as he walked toward the dugout.

Scully had commented on-air about how there was a signaled strike, and how Furcal had been called out at second, yet the Dodgers somehow had a runner at first and second with no outs when the dust settled.

Like everyone else, Scully was still trying to figure out what happened.

Cooper's explanation didn't fly with Cox, who shouted and gestured until he was thrown out for the 148th time, extending his major-league career record.

With two on and none out, Jurrjens struck out the next batter, Manny Ramirez. But Blake followed with a homer that vaulted the Dodgers to a 5-2 lead.

Johnson's two-run homer in the seventh gave life to the Braves, and he had a chance to give them the lead in the eighth. After Escobar's two-out single and Ryan Church's double put two runners in scoring position, Johnson popped out.

But they would get another chance, thanks to the bullpen. Moylan worked out of a bases-loaded jam in the 11th inning in his majors-leading 62nd appearance.

Russell Martin reached on an infield single to start the 11th, and Juan Pierre drew a one-out walk. Both moved into scoring position on a groundout, and Moylan intentionally walked Ethier, whose three-run homer ended Thursday's 5-4 game.

With no wiggle room, Moylan induced the Abreu groundout.

Moylan is on pace for 91 appearances, which would shatter the franchise record. The Aussie sidearmer, who had ligament-transplant elbow surgery in May 2008, had pitched Wednesday and Thursday but told Cox he was ready and wanted in Friday.

Jurrjens was charged with five runs (four earned) and seven hits his second rough start this week against the Dodgers, after giving up 10 hits and four runs in five innings of a loss against them Sunday at Atlanta.

The more the Braves complain about the umpiring, the more they seem to be on the wrong end of some questionable calls by the men in blue.

Jones had scathing criticism for the plate umpires in two games of a series last week at Florida, and said he'd never seen anything like the fist-bump that umpire Bill Hohn exchanged with Marlins catcher John Baker at the conclusion of the 10-inning series finale.

Other Braves were also incredulous upon seeing a replay of that exchange between Hohn and Baker.