Chris Taylor and Rich Hill Help Dodgers Bounce Back With 6-2 Win Over Braves

Don't say he's over the Hill.

Corey Seager, Chase Utley, and Chris Taylor all homered as the Los Angeles Dodgers snapped their brief two-game losing streak with a 6-2 victory over the Atlanta Braves on Saturday night at Dodger Stadium.

After back-to-back blowout losses to the Braves on Thursday and Friday, Rich Hill righted the ship for the Boys in Blue with just over six strong innings.

"Just to bounce back tonight was a really good team win," said Hill. "Everybody played really well tonight,"

Corey Seager got the scoring started in the first inning with a solo shot to centerfield for his 16^th home run of the season.

The home run gave the Dodgers a 1-0, as L.A. would ultimately extend their Major League record of consecutive wins when taking a lead to 45 games.

"It always helps when you score first," said Seager of his home run. "You get on top and relax a little bit, but if you don't score first you still have to come out and compete."

Seager's mentor, Chase Utley, followed the reigning Rookie of the Year with a solo shot of his own in the bottom of the third inning.

"We swung the bats better tonight then we did the last two games," added Utley. "Obviously that was the goal tonight."

Chase Utley jumps on a fastball from Julio Teheran and smashes a solo home run to right field for a 2-0 Dodgers lead the 3rd!!! pic.twitter.com/V8PCBSsJti— TheRenderMLB (@TheRenderMLB) July 23, 2017

Former Dodger, Matt Kemp tied the game in the top of the fifth with an RBI single to left field as the Braves scratched two across off Hill in the fifth.

Kemp has hit safely in eight of his last nine games since the All-Star break and is batting .314 with five runs, a home run and six RBI. 

Battling a respiratory infection, Hill (7-4), would bend, but not break in the inning, and left with the lead in the seventh after allowing two runs on six hits with two walks and eight strikeouts in six and 1/3 innings.

The outing was Hill's fifth consecutive strong outing, and third quality start in his last four. In the month of July, Hill is 3-0 with a 1.42 ERA with 37 strikeouts and three walks.

"It's much more fun when you don't suck," joked a raspy Hill after the game. "I want to contribute to the team, regardless of the outcome at the end of the day. Nobody's perfect, I just want to give my best effort."

The Dodgers received a gift in the form of the go-ahead run in the bottom of the sixth inning.

With Yasmani Grandal on third base and two outs, Yasiel Puig, hit a swinging bunt down the third base line which Braves' pitcher Julio Teheran fielded and threw to the plate to get Grandal, but the ball bounced out of the glove of catcher Tyler Flowers, allowing the go-ahead run to score and Puig to reach second on the error.

"It was just like it looks. It hit the glove, the ball flied out, it's just baseball," Flowers said of the play at the plate. "It's a quick play. I catch it, he is right there. I didn't have time to go to two hands."

Chris Taylor entered the game on a double-switch in the seventh inning, and then promptly added an insurance run when he led off the inning with a solo shot to center field.

"I tried to talk to the guys who had already faced him, especially if he's a starter and Teheran was still in there," Taylor said of his first at-bat coming off the bench to leadoff the seventh inning. "I talked to them to see what he was throwing and how they were feeling."

Teheran (7-8) would leave the game shortly thereafter, surrendering four runs on nine hits with one walk and six strikeouts in six and 1/3 innings.

Despite the home run by Taylor, the Dodgers super utility star wasn't finished as he added a two-run triple in the bottom of the eighth to break the game open.

In the month of July, Taylor is batting .429 with eight runs, three doubles, three triples, two home runs, and five RBI.

"I cleaned some things up mechanically," Taylor said of his struggles in June and hot stretch in July. "I'm not trying to overswing, and almost like I'm going straight into two-strike [approach] and just trying to get the barrel to it."

Los Angeles 67-31 still holds the best record in baseball, 1.5 games ahead of the Houston Astros and are 32 of 38 since June 7, the best 38-game stretch since 2013.

The Dodgers improved to 40-13 at home, and are 15-7 against Atlanta since 2014.

Something's Going Around The Clubhouse:

Justin Turner missed the game with a respitatory infection that has spread like wildfire around the Dodgers clubhouse. Rich Hill has been battling the virus for over a week, and so has Kenley Jansen.

"It's kinda been going around," joked Hill who said he's been taking Mucinex to get over the cold.

Up Next:

LHP Sean Newcomb faces off with Clayton Kershaw in the finale of the four-game series on Sunday afternoon at 1:10PM PST.