Matt Kemp does it all to beat Braves

LOS ANGELES -- Matt Kemp hit a walk-off single off David Hale to score Justin Turner in the 10th inning on Wednesday night, giving the Dodgers a 3-2 win over the Braves. It capped a stellar night for Kemp, who had three hits, scored twice, and also homered.

The win was the fifth straight for the Dodgers, their longest winning streak of the season, and their third walk-off win of the year.

Turner opened the 10th inning with a pinch-hit single up the middle, then advanced to second base on a wild pitch. He scored easily when Kemp drove a ball into left field for his ninth career walk-off hit.

The Dodgers grabbed the lead in the eighth, starting with a two-out walk to Kemp by Jordan Walden. Carl Crawford followed with a single, putting two runners on for Juan Uribe, who grounded a ball up the middle, flagged down in the grass behind second base by Andrelton Simmons. But Kemp never stopped running and scored from second on the infield single.

It was the second time in the game Kemp advanced two bases on an infield single by Uribe.

"It's always good to run. Right now I'm not as fast as I want to be, but to be aggressive and make some things happen, it feels good to be in that position to score a run or take an extra base," Kemp said. "It's important with the guys we got in that lineup to get in scoring position."

But Justin Upton greeted Kenley Jansen with a leadoff home run in the ninth inning, crushing a slider well into the Dodgers bullpen in left field to tie the game at 2-2. It was the fourth blown save of the season and his first since June 20, snapping a string of 11 consecutive saves.

Kemp also hit a home run against Alex Wood in the second inning was his third in two nights, and his first home run against a left-hander this season, and tied the game at 1-1. Kemp was 2-for-3 against Wood.

"He's been swinging the bat pretty well for a while now, but he's obviously gotten better in the last week, said starter Zack Greinke. "The biggest difference has been the power. For the past month he's been swinging good but it was a lot of singles."

In his last nine games Kemp is 17-for-35 (.486) with three home runs and 11 RBI.

He came to bat a few times on Wednesday with "All Night Long" by Lionel Richie as hit at-bat music, including before the home run. Kemp played along when asked if he might keep Richie as his walk-up muse.

"He's one of my favorite artists. We could do this all night long. It's a good song," Kemp said, laughing. "I've got an old soul."

Kemp has crushed left-handed pitching his entire career, so when he started the year 8-for-62 (.129) with 18 strikeouts and one walk against southpaws it was quite a surprise. But since June 7 Kemp has been more Kemp-like against left-handers, hitting .417 (15-for-36) with three doubles, two triples, a home run, eight walks and two strikeouts.

But that was it for the Dodgers against Wood, who matched Zack Greinke pitch for pitch through seven innings. Wood struck out eight while allowing six hits and two walks.

Greinke was fantastic, setting a new season high with 13 strikeouts in his eight innings, allowing just one run on five hits. Greinke didn't issue a free pass until walking Tommy La Stella with two outs in the eighth inning, the penultimate batter faced by Greinke.

It could have been much shorter, as Greinke was worked on by trainers in the first few innings when he wasn't pitching, dealing with calf tightness, the same injury that sidelined him a few weeks in March.

"It was similar to spring training, in those first couple of innings but it got better as the game went on," Greinke said. "Obviously it wasn't too bad."

Greinke's game was just the 11th by a Dodger in the last 48 seasons with at least 13 strikeouts and no more than one walk.

On the season Greinke has 153 strikeouts in 139⅓ innings, surpassing his total of 148 strikeouts in 2013, in 177⅔ frames. Greinke also has just 29 walks on the season, 17 fewer than 2013.

Greinke allowed doubles in the second and fourth innings, the first one cashed in on an RBI single by Simmons. Two runners reached base in the sixth inning, and a bobble by Yasiel Puig in center field allowed the second into scoring position, but a strikeout of Gattis ended the frame.

Up next

The Dodgers go for the sweep on Thursday night, with ace Clayton Kershaw on the mound, facing Julio Teheran for Atlanta.

Wednesday particulars

Home runs: Matt Kemp (11); Justin Upton (19)

WP - J.P. Howell (3-3): 1 IP, 2 walks, 1 strikeout

LP - David Hale (3-3): 1+ IP, 3 hits, 1 run