ATLANTA — On a disappointing night, Dodgers manager Don Mattingly knows everything could’ve been much worse.
At least starting pitcher Brett Anderson doesn’t appear to be seriously injured after irritating his left Achilles tendon.
The rotation has already lost Hyun-Jin Ryu and Brandon McCarthy for the season and has Carlos Frias on the disabled list.
"Pretty concerned with the state of the rotation at this point," Mattingly said. "We’ve had injuries and getting deeper and deeper into it."
Losing 4-3 to the Atlanta Braves on Tuesday night, the NL West-leading Dodgers dropped consecutive games for the first time since June 22-23 at the Chicago Cubs.
But that was the least of Mattingly’s concerns.
Anderson left the game in the third inning. Shortstop Kike Hernandez and centre fielder Joc Pederson committed errors that led to Atlanta runs. Former Dodger Juan Uribe drove in the go-ahead run in the fifth with a bloop single.
And Mattingly, who tried unsuccessfully to have a tag play overturned three innings earlier, was ejected by home plate umpire James Hoye after a heated argument in the eighth.
Justin Turner, likely still disturbed that he hadn’t drawn a walk, appeared to exchange words with Hoye as he jogged back to the dugout after grounding out. That prompted Mattingly to come out.
"He ejected me because, really, I’d seen him coming after Justin, which I didn’t like, because we knew it was a ball," Mattingly said. "And then I was really not going to allow him to come across the field. When he started walking toward Justin, I’m going to have to come out at that point."
Chris Johnson drove in two runs and Alex Wood overcame control problems to help Atlanta improve to 18-6 at home in games decided by two runs or fewer.
Wood (7-6) had allowed just six homers this season but gave up two to the first six batters he faced. Turner made it 1-0 in the first with his 12th homer and Yasiel Puig forced a 2-2 tie in the second with his fifth homer.
Though he pitched behind in the count for much of the night — throwing just 59 of his 107 pitches for strikes — Wood won for just the second time in seven starts at home this year. The left-hander gave up six hits, three runs, four walks and struck out three in 6 2/3 innings.
Jason Frasor and Luis Avilan recorded the next four outs before closer Jim Johnson faced the minimum in the ninth to earn his eighth save in 11 chances.
Atlanta took a 2-1 lead in the first on Nick Markakis’ infield single and Johnson’s groundout.
The Braves went ahead 3-2 in the third when Markakis tripled for the first time this year and scored on Johnson’s single.
Los Angeles tied it at 3-all in the fifth. Reliever Chin-hui Tsao, who replaced Anderson, led off with a double and scored from third on Howie Kendrick’s single.
Tsao (1-1) was chased in the fifth after giving up consecutive singles to Markakis and Johnson. Markakis scored from third to put the Braves up 4-3 on Uribe’s bloop single into shallow centre field.
Tsao gave up two hits, one run, one walk and struck out two in 1 1/3 innings.
Anderson, who left trailing 3-2, allowed five hits, three runs, two walks and struck out two in 2 2/3 innings.
"It just kept getting tighter and more sore and I wasn’t able to push off the rubber like I normally so and that kind of affected my command," Anderson said. "Even with all the other stuff I’ve had I’ve never taken myself out. But it was one of those things where I felt if it got worse it would make it worse in the long run."
BEEN A WHILE
Tsao hit a ground-rule double in the fifth on the first pitch. It was his first at-bat in 12 years and his first hit since 2003 when he and the Colorado Rockies were playing the Braves.
TRAINER’S ROOM
Dodgers: Anderson will be reevaluated on Wednesday. … OF Carl Crawford, out since April 28 with a torn oblique, was reinstated from the 60-day disabled list and pinch-ran in the eighth.
Braves: 1B Freddie Freeman, on the disabled list with a bruised right wrist, took live batting practice for the first time since June 17. Gonzalez said Freeman will likely go to the team’s spring training facility in Orlando on Wednesday, adding the Braves hope he will return for a four-game series beginning July 30 at Philadelphia.
UP NEXT
Dodgers: RHP Mike Bolsinger (4-3) has one career start against Atlanta, losing 10-4 on July 5, 2014, while with Arizona.
Braves: RHP Julio Teheran (6-4) is 0-3 with a 6.86 ERA in three career starts against Los Angeles.
