After giving up seven runs without making it out of the sixth inning in the last game before the All-Star break, Alex Wood surrendered two homers and in the first two innings Tuesday against the Dodgers, and across Braves Country there were surely folks getting antsy.
But the homers came with the bases empty, and Wood settled in and allowed only one more run the rest of the way, pitching 6 2/3 effective if not particularly efficient innings in a 4-3 Braves win at Turner Field that clinched the series against the National League West leaders.
Chris Johnson had three hits and drove in two runs for the Braves, who’ll go for a sweep Wednesday when Julio Teheran, who is 5-0 with a 2.18 ERA at home, faces Dodgers right-hander Mike Bolsinger (4-3, 3.04 ERA).
“If you want to see the definition of a baseball game, that’s definitely a good one to watch all the way around,” Wood said. “From the defense to the offense, guys getting big hits, making some big plays in the field, and the bullpen shutting it down. Overall it was really good tonight.”
Wood blew a 2-1 lead after the first inning and a 3-2 lead after the third. The Braves gave him one more lead in the fifth, when Nick Markakis hit a leadoff single and hustled to reach second on center fielder Joc Pederson’s throwing error.
Johnson followed with a single, and Juan Uribe’s RBI single against his former team put the Braves back in front, 4-3.
This time Wood (7-6) protected the lead, working out of a two-on, no-outs jam in the sixth by getting Yasiel Puig on a fly out and striking out Kike Hernandez and Austin Barnes. Puig and Justin Turner hit the early homers for the Dodgers.
“He had a great sixth inning,” Braves manager Fredi Gonzalez said. “I thought his stuff got better. And (catcher Ryan) Lavarnway did a nice job today. He goes unnoticed behind the plate but he did a nice job getting Wood maneuvering through some of those tough innings. For me the sixth inning was the key. He got (runners on) first and second, nobody out and he gets out of it. From that point on he deserved a spot to go out there in the seventh inning.”
Wood was charged with six hits, three runs and four walks with three strikeouts in 6 2/3 innings, and threw 59 strikes in 107 pitches. Relievers Jason Frasor, Luis Avilan and Jim Johnson combined for 2 1/3 perfect innings, with Johnson earning his eighth save.
After giving up 10 hits in 5 2/3 innings of his July 12 start at Colorado, Wood and pitching coach Roger McDowell worked on an adjustment in the left-hander’s delivery during a team-optional workout over the All-Star break.
“I moved back over to the first-base side (of the pitching rubber), and it just feels like the ball’s coming out of my hand a lot better,” Wood said. “It feels like my action’s back. Still adjustments to be made, but it really makes me stay on the ball a lot better. Some of those walks I had was when I was coming off, but I think in the long run it’s going to pay off. It felt really good coming out of my hand tonight.”
The Dodgers threatened again in the eighth after Adrian Gonzalez reached on a fielding error by second baseman Jace Peterson with one out. Avilan struck out Scott Van Slyke before Puig lined out to the left-field warning track.
After Markakis tripled and scored on Chris Johnson’s single in the third for a 3-2 lead, the Dodgers threatened in the fourth, With two on and one out, Austin Barnes grounded to Peterson, who started a slick 4-6-3 double play, with he and shortstop Andrelton Simmons making quick throws and first baseman Johnson a nice catch at the back end.
They didn’t score in the fourth, but the Dodgers got a tying run one inning later, when reliever Chin-Hui Tsao bounced a leadoff double over the center-field fence – his first hit in 11 years — and scored on Howie Kendrick’s one-out single.
Johnson, who said before the game he hoped to be traded due to diminished playing time, made his second start in six games and had an RBI groundout in the first inning, an RBI single in the third, a takeout slide to prevent a potential double play in the third, a fifth-inning single to put runners on the corners, and a leadoff ground-rule double in the seventh.
“I had fun tonight,” Johnson said. “No matter what happens, no matter what I say before or after the game, as soon as the game starts I’m the same person. I go out there, I try to get a hit every single at-bat, or try to help the team any way I can when I’m in the game.”
It was his sixth multi-hit game of the season, including a pair of three-hit games in his past five starts. Johnson had three hits July 9 at Colorado, and is 8-for-21 with two doubles in his past six games including one pinch-hit appearance.
“I made a couple of adjustments mechanically,” he said. “I’ve spread out (stance) a little bit, been working with (hitting coach Kevin Seitzer) a little bit, spreading out and kind of letting my hands work. It feels good.”
Dodgers starter Brett Anderson left the game with irritation in his left Achilles tendon after booting Jonny Gomes’ chop grounder with two out in the third. The left-hander came off the mound to field it and made an awkward attempt as the ball caromed off him. Gomes was credited with a single, and Tsao entered the game in relief of Anderson.
After Turner’s two-out homer in the Dodgers’ first inning, the Braves answered by piecing together two runs in the bottom of the inning. Peterson drew a leadoff walk and Cameron Maybin had an infield single, both advancing on a throwing error. With two in scoring position and none out, Markakis and Johnson followed with run-scoring groundouts for a 2-1 lead.
The Dodgers tied it on Puig’s homer in the second. Through two innings, Wood had allowed two hits, both solo homers. It was the 29th hit and fourth homer for Puig in 16 career games against the Braves, including four division-series games in 2013. He had a .424 overall average against the Braves before Tuesday.
