LOS ANGELES – Adrian Gonzalez wanted the Dodgers to head into the All-Star break on a high note, so the first baseman hit an 0-2 slider into the right field pavilion in the bottom of the eighth and Los Angeles came from behind to beat the Milwaukee Brewers 4-3 on Sunday at Dodger Stadium.
Milwaukee was clinging to a 3-2 lead in the eighth inning when they called upon left-handed reliever Will Smith (not that Will Smith), to get Gonzalez out. After three straight sliders, the five-time All-Star sat back and waited for another one, sending it over the fence for the game-winning two-run home run.
"I wasn't quite waiting on it [the slider], somehow I was able to stay through it and get a good piece of wood on it," Gonzalez said. "I had a two-strike approach and tried to make sure I didn't strike out."
Smith had been dominant against left-handed hitters previously, getting out 193 of 194 lefties on the year before Gonzalez's bomb. It was the first home run Smith had given up all season in 42 appearances.
Kenley Jansen came out to some "California Love" and closed the game out with back-to-back strikeouts as fans in attendance enjoyed some "Summertime."
Ryan Braun and Hernan Perez each hit solo shots off Dodgers' starter Brett Anderson, but couldn't break the game open when they had the chance with bases loaded and no outs in the top of the fourth.
"Solo homers don't usually beat you, and thankfully I was able to make some pitches after that," Anderson said.
Anderson miraculously escaped the jam by only allowing one run. After an RBI ground out, Anderson got Milwaukee pitcher Kyle Lohse to bunt back to him and he quickly fired to the plate for the out. One batter later, Khris Davis grounded out to tend the inning and Anderson had kept his team in the game.
"It was tremendous to get out of that fourth inning," Anderson continued. "I minimized the damage and got out of it fairly unscathed and it turned the momentum."
Lohse pitched well enough to get the victory, but the Native American settled for a no-decision allowing just two runs on four hits with six strikeouts in five innings.
Justin Turner went 3-for-4 with a double an RBI for the Boys in Blue. Turner had been hitless in his last 10 at-bats before today.
"I was scuffling a bit over the last week," Turner said. "I watched some film, made a couple adjustments and felt good again today."
Video highlights of the game are available in the link in the opening paragraph.
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