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 "Four-and-a-half games up. Twelve games over .500," Gonzalez said.
"How can you not be pleased with that?"
The Dodgers got there because Gonzalez's two-run home run in the
bottom of the eighth inning gave them a 4-3 come-from-behind victory
over the Milwaukee Brewers.
The Dodgers took two of three in the weekend series, reaching the
break with that 4 1/2-game lead in the National League West and a
51-39 record, matching their season high at 12 games over .500.
In both wins over the Brewers, the Dodgers had to come from behind
late in the game. They are 9-26 this season in games they trailed
after six innings. A year ago, they went 2-54 in those situations.
"You like to think there's something to it from the standpoint of
your guys keep playing, hanging in there and the pitching does the
same. So you hope it's not an aberration," Dodgers manager Don
Mattingly said of the difference in those numbers. "Last year, I
don't think we came back hardly at all ever and it didn't seem very
competitive if we got behind. It seemed quick.
"You hope it says something to the character of your club, that
they're a club that's not going to just roll over. They're a club
that's going to keep having good at-bats for you, hanging in there
and try to find a way to win. That's what you hope."
The Brewers forced the Dodgers into come-from-behind mode this
weekend with good starting pitching. The Brewers' three starting
pitchers in the series -- Jimmy Nelson, Taylor Jungmann and Kyle
Lohse -- combined to allow just three earned runs on 12 hits over 21
innings. The Brewers' first loss in the series came on Friday night
when the Dodgers scored three unearned runs in the seventh inning.
Lohse went five strong innings Sunday, allowing just two runs on
four hits (including a solo home run by A.J. Ellis).
The Brewers did their scoring early against Dodgers starter Brett
Anderson.
Added to the National League All-Star roster to replace injured Matt
Holliday before the game, Ryan Braun drove a home run into the
right-field stands in his first at-bat. Two innings later, Anderson
gave up another solo home run, this one to No. 8 hitter Hernan
Perez. It was Perez's first major-league home run.
In the fourth, the Brewers strung together three consecutive singles
from first baseman Adam Lind, third baseman Aramis Ramirez and
shortstop Jean Segura to load the bases with no outs but could
scratch out just one run when the next three hitters each hit weak
ground balls.
Segura's hit was the Brewers' seventh in the first four innings
against Anderson. The Dodgers left-hander allowed just one more in
his seven innings and the Brewers went to work, trying to make the
one-run lead stand up.
"We had the matchups we wanted late in the game and we had our guys
pitching to who we wanted to pitch to, so it worked as good as we
could have hoped," Brewers manager Craig Counsell said.
[to top of second column] |
It stopped working out in the eighth inning when second baseman
Howie Kendrick led off the eighth inning with a single and advanced
to second when center fielder Carlos Gomez misplayed the ball.
Left-hander Will Smith came in to face Gonzalez and threw four
consecutive sliders in the lefty-vs-lefty matchup. Gonzalez took the
first one for a strike and fouled off the next one to fall behind
0-and-2.
"After a few, you think you may get a fastball," Gonzalez said. "You
just take a two-strike approach and try to make sure you don't
strike out. At the worst, my mentality was to get the guy over."
Gonzalez fouled off Smith's third consecutive slider. Then the
reliever hung one and Gonzalez sent it over the wall in right field
for the decisive home run.
"I left an 0-2 pitch up to a good hitter. You can't do that to a guy
like that," Smith said. "He's a big strong guy. There's a reason why
he's been an established hitter for so long. We weren't going to
walk him there.
"It's tough to go into the All-Star break with a bad taste in your
mouth. You've got to get the job done, and I didn't do it today."
NOTES: Dodgers LHP Clayton Kershaw was named to the National League
All-Star Game as a replacement for Nationals RHP Max Scherzer, who
pitched on Sunday. It is Kershaw's fifth consecutive All-Star
selection. ... Dodgers OF Joc Pederson has been named to the NL's
starting lineup for the All-Star Game as a replacement for injured
Cardinals OF Matt Holliday, who will miss the game due to an injury.
Pederson is the first Dodgers rookie position player to start an
All-Star Game. He will also participate in the Home Run Derby on
Monday. ... The Dodgers have five players on the All-Star team
(Kershaw, Pederson, Zack Greinke, Yasmani Grandal and Adrian
Gonzalez) for the first time since 1995 (Hideo Nomo, Mike Piazza,
Raul Mondesi, Jose Offerman and Todd Worrell). ... Brewers OF Ryan
Braun was added to the NL All-Star team as a reserve, taking the
roster spot vacated by Holliday. It is Braun's sixth All-Star
selection but first since 2012. He was suspended in 2013 for
violating baseball's policy against performance-enhancing
substances.
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