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Broken bat dribbler proves to be winner for Brewers

Brewers slugger Ryan Braun breaks his bat on an RBI infield single during the eighth inning of the Brewers' 4-3 win over the Dodgers.

Brewers slugger Ryan Braun breaks his bat on an RBI infield single during the eighth inning of the Brewers’ 4-3 win over the Dodgers.

(Morry Gash / Associated Press)
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KEY MOMENT: With the score tied with two outs in the eighth inning, Ryan Braun pushed a broken-bat hit past the mound. From third base, Carlos Gomez ran home as Juan Uribe barehanded the ball and threw to first base. It was a split second too slow. The call held up after a review and the Brewers took a 4-3 lead.

AT THE PLATE: Three pitches into the game, Joc Pederson hit a changeup over the center-field wall. Pederson has batted in the leadoff spot for the last five games. He has four home runs. The Dodgers scored two runs in the fourth inning on a run-scoring single by Yasmani Grandal and a sacrifice fly by Uribe, who later extended his hitting streak to 13 games. But the Dodgers hardly threatened after the fourth inning. They put only one runner in scoring position. “We just weren’t really able to add on,” Manager Don Mattingly said. The team’s most dangerous hitter, Adrian Gonzalez, didn’t have much of a chance to cause damage. In four plate appearances, he walked three times and was hit by a pitch.

ON THE MOUND: Right-handed reliever Chris Hatcher inherited a runner on second base and a one-run lead in the eighth inning. The first batter he faced, Gomez, doubled to left field to tie the score and later scored the decisive run. The double, Hatcher said, “was a hanging split. It didn’t do anything.”

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MATTINGLY EJECTED: The Dodgers bullpen had eaten plenty of innings recently, so when Clayton Kershaw walked over to first base umpire Paul Emmel to argue a balk call in the third inning, Mattingly came out to intervene. “I just wasn’t going to really let him — when he takes a step toward Clayton, then I got to go out and make sure that Clayton stays in the game,” Mattingly said. Mattingly argued for about 25 seconds, and, as he turned to the dugout, he got the hook, his first this season. He used the opportunity to argue some more.

ROAD WOES: The loss dropped the Dodgers to 3-7 on the road. The difference at home, where the team is 13-2, is stark, but Mattingly said the ballpark didn’t matter. “Home or road doesn’t have anything to do with us not really being able to add on,” he said.

EXTRA BASES: The team recalled left-hander Daniel Coulombe from triple-A Oklahoma City to provide extra depth in a taxed bullpen. … Also on Monday, the Dodgers acquired right-hander Matt West from the Toronto Blue Jays for cash considerations and assigned him to double-A Tulsa. Westhasn’t given up a run in 121/3 innings in double A this season.

UP NEXT: Right-hander Zack Greinke (4-0, 1.93 ERA) will face the Brewers and right-hander Matt Garza (2-3, 4.60) on Tuesday at Miller Park at 5 p.m. PDT. TV: SportsNet LA. Radio: 570, 1020.

—Zach Helfand

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