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Saturday, 05/14/05
Bradley slams door on Braves
Associated Press
LOS ANGELES — Milton Bradley answered Adam LaRoche's eighth-inning grand slam with one of his own in the bottom half, and the Los Angeles Dodgers pulled out a 7-4 victory over the Atlanta Braves last night in a matchup of first-place teams.
Dodgers starter Jeff Weaver breezed through the first six innings on 79 pitches, taking a three-hitter and a 2-0 lead into the eighth before pinch-hitter Pete Orr singled and advanced on a double by Rafael Furcal.
The right-hander caught Marcus Giles looking at a 3-2 breaking ball, but walked Chipper Jones before LaRoche drove Weaver's 119th and final pitch an estimated 436 feet into the pavilion in right-center for his fifth homer and the first grand slam against the Dodgers this season.
The four RBIs tied LaRoche's career high, but the first baseman's indecision helped the Dodgers load the bases in the eighth against reliever Chris Reitsma (1-1).
Cesar Izturis and pinch-hitter Ricky Ledee singled with one out and J.D. Drew followed with a grounder to LaRoche, who wasted a second thinking about a force at second and was beaten to the bag by the hustling Drew. Jeff Kent flied to short left, but Bradley drove a 3-1 pitch inside the right field pole for his second homer of the game, his 10th of the season and his third career slam. His five RBIs tied a career high.
Hee-Seop Choi capped the inning with an RBI single off John Foster.
Giovanni Carrara (4-0) got the victory, striking out his only batter, Andruw Jones, to end the eighth.
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