LOS ANGELES — The Atlanta Braves rebounded from a crushing loss on Thursday to hand the Los Angeles Dodgers a bit of their own late-inning medicine.
Garret Anderson drove in the tying run with a ninth-inning single against All-Star closer Jonathan Broxton and scored the go-ahead run on a single by Yunel Escobar during a four-run 12th, which Ryan Church capped with a three-run homer to give the Braves a 9-5 victory over the Dodgers on Friday night.
Ramon Troncoso (4-1) gave up one-out singles in the 12th to Anderson and Brian McCann before rookie Scott Elbert (2-1) came on and struck out Adam LaRoche. But Escobar lined the rookie's 3-1 pitch to right-center to score Anderson. The hit came only hours after manager Joe Torre announced that Elbert would make his first big league start on Sunday.
Two pitches later, Church hit his fourth homer into the lower seats in the right field corner.
Broxton failed to protect a 5-4 lead for Chad Billingsley, resulting in his fourth blown save in 28 attempts this season and first in 13 tries at Dodger Stadium. Nate McLouth walked with one out, stole his 17th base and scored with two out when Anderson lined a single to right field on the first pitch.
The Dodgers left the bases loaded in the 11th when pinch-hitter Tony Abreu grounded out to shortstop against Peter Moylan (4-2) after an intentional walk to Andre Ethier-who won Thursday night's series opener with a walkoff three-run homer in the ninth off closer Rafael Soriano.
Billingsley allowed two runs and four hits in six innings and struck out three. He left after 78 pitches because of a mild left hamstring strain, which occurred when he left the batter's box on a single in the sixth
Hong-Chih Kuo inherited a 5-2 lead from Billingsley and promptly gave up a walk and a home run by Kelly Johnson, his seventh. Kuo faced one more batter, pinch-hitter Matt Diaz, whose bid for a tying homer was caught near the top of the fence in right-center by center fielder Matt Kemp on a leaping effort.
Atlanta manager Bobby Cox, was ejected for the fifth time this season and 148th time in his career, extending his major league record. This one occurred in the fifth inning, after a walk to Ethier put runners at first and second with none out.
Plate umpire Eric Cooper hesitated with his right hand as McCann came out of his crouch to throw to second-where Rafael Furcal initially was called out on a stolen base attempt. But when Ethier was awarded first base, Cox came out and argued vociferously-claiming that Cooper was about to call a strike on the Dodgers' home run and RBI leader.
The score was tied 2-all when Cox was banished. Braves starter Jair Jurrjens threw a called third strike to the next batter, Manny Ramirez, but Blake drove the next pitch into the left field pavilion for his 13th homer and first since July 5 at San Diego. It ended a homerless drought of 101 at-bats for Blake.
At that point, pitching coach Roger McDowell removed Jurrjens, who had a few choice words for Cooper and was ejected as well. The right-hander was charged with five runs and seven hits through 4 1-3 innings. He struck out five and walked three.
All-Star third baseman Chipper Jones, who hit his 422nd career homer in Thursday night's 5-4 loss, was scratched from the Braves' original lineup after batting practice because of an injury to the oblique muscle on his left side.
NOTES: Anderson has three hits in four career at-bats against Broxton, whose other blown saves this season have come against the Phillies, Giants and Cardinals. ... The Braves have allowed the fewest home runs in the majors (77), and the Dodgers the second-fewest (83).