LDN - Sports

Utley leads Dodgers' comeback against Orioles

[July 05, 2016] LOS ANGELES -- Chase Utley reflects the Los Angeles Dodgers' newly found ability to win close games.

Utley registered three hits and drove in two runs as Los Angeles rallied for a 7-5 win over the Baltimore Orioles on Monday night at Dodger Stadium.

Rookie Corey Seager extended his hitting streak to 17 games, a career high and the National League's longest this year, while Yasiel Puig and Yasmani Grandal each hit solo home runs.

Right-hander Joe Blanton (4-2) earned the victory with a scoreless inning in relief. Closer Kenley Jansen pitched a perfect ninth with two strikeouts for his 25th save as the Dodgers used their fifth consecutive victory to remain five games behind the San Francisco Giants in the National League West.

"We're playing much better baseball," Los Angeles manager Dave Roberts said. "We talked about some of those one-run games in the first couple of months that we were on the other end of. Now, we're finding ways to win those games."

Baltimore's J.J Hardy and Joey Rickard drove in two runs apiece, with Hardy hitting two doubles. However, the Orioles' lead over the Boston Red Sox in the American League East dwindled to two games following their fifth successive loss.

The Dodgers, who twice trailed by three runs, tied the score in the sixth inning before moving ahead in the seventh.

With the score 5-5, Seager lined a triple down the right field line against reliever Odrisamer Despaigne (0-1) to start the seventh. Justin Turner lined Despaigne's next pitch to left field for a sacrifice fly. The hosts added a run in the eighth on Howie Kendrick's RBI double.

"Corey's taking that extra base, turning a double into a triple, was a pivotal play," Roberts said.

Los Angeles tied the score with two out in the sixth. After Grandal walked, Will Venable reached base on a fielder's choice, moved to second on Despaigne's balk and came home when Utley lined a single to center field.

"The balk call obviously wasn't a balk," Baltimore manager Buck Showalter said. "I looked at it again, and I don't know where that came from. But that didn't beat us. It was something we could've overcome. We're having to pitch people in situations where their best skills aren't really suited for those situations."

The Orioles took a 3-0 lead in the top of the second inning against the Dodgers' 19-year-old rookie, left-hander Julio Urias. Hardy, after fouling off the final three pitches of a 10-pitch at-bat, lined a two-run double to right, then scored later on Adam Jones' line-drive single to center field.

The Dodgers narrowed the deficit to 3-2 in the bottom of the second by hitting back-to-back home runs for the first time this season.

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Dodgers second baseman Chase Utley (26) celebrates with shortstop Corey Seager (5) after the game against the Baltimore Orioles at Dodger Stadium. The Los Angeles Dodgers won 7-5. Mandatory Credit: Kelvin Kuo-USA TODAY Sports

Puig led off by propelling a 77 mph curveball from right-hander Yovani Gallardo into the center field bleachers for his seventh homer of the season. Grandal followed by lifting Gallardo's 88 mph slider into Baltimore's bullpen down the right field line for his second homer in two games and his ninth of the season.

The Orioles used Rickard's two-run single in the fourth to chase Urias, who threw 75 pitches in 3 1/3 innings. Urias allowed five runs, six hits and two walks while striking out two.

Los Angeles scored twice in the fourth to draw within 5-4. With Puig at second base and pinch hitter Scott Van Slyke at first, Utley lined a single under the glove of diving first baseman Davis to send Puig home and Van Slyke to third. Seager followed with an opposite-field single that scored Van Slyke and extended his hitting streak.

Gallardo threw 95 pitches in four innings and amassed five strikeouts but permitted four runs, six hits, three walks and two wild pitches.

NOTES: The Orioles are playing the Dodgers in Los Angeles for just the second time since the 1996 World Series, which Baltimore swept in four games. ... Orioles INF Pedro Alvarez went on the bereavement list Monday and will miss the three-game series in Los Angeles. ... Baltimore also optioned LHP Ariel Miranda to Triple-A Norfolk and recalled OF Dariel Alvarez from Norfolk and LHP Jayson Aquino from Double-A Bowie. ... Dodgers LHP Hyun-jin Ryu, who had left shoulder surgery in May 2015, will start Thursday against the San Diego Padres, manager Dave Roberts announced. Ryu has not pitched in the majors since 2014. ... Dodgers SS Corey Seager's 17-game hitting streak is the third longest by a rookie in team history. ... Los Angeles' Will Venable made his first start in left field this season and just his third start overall. ... The game drew a crowd of 47,378.

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