Jul 9, 2008 9:21 pm US/Pacific
Lowe Nearly Perfect, Dodgers Now Tied For First
LOS ANGELES (AP) ―
Derek Lowe took a perfect game into the seventh inning, Matt Kemp homered and the Los Angeles Dodgers beat the Braves 2-1 Wednesday night at Chavez Ravine in a game that lasted exactly just two hours.
Lowe retired the first 18 Braves that he faced before Gregor Blanco led off the seventh with a line drive single back up the middle.
Jonathan Broxton entered the game in relief of Lowe (7-8) after Jeff Francoeur homered in the eighth.
Tim Hudson (9-7) matched Lowe's performance out-for-out through the first four innings until James Loney hit a leadoff double in the Dodgers' fifth.
Takashi Saito pitched a perfect ninth to earn his 17th save in 20 chances.
Lowe extended the Dodgers' streak of exceptional starts. On Monday night, Hiroki Kuroda took a perfect game into the eighth before the Braves' Mark Teixeira hit a leadoff double. Kuroda finished the complete game shutout with Teixeira being the Braves' only baserunner.
On Tuesday night, Chad Billingsley held the Braves hitless through the first four innings.
Lowe (7-8) gave up one run, walked two and struck out four in 7 2-3 innings. Hudson allowed two runs and four hits in seven innings.
Kemp homered to center, his eighth of the season, with two outs in the sixth. It was only the second hit off Hudson.
Andruw Jones, the former Braves' All-Star who has been mired in a two-season long slump, singled home a run in the seventh for a 2-0 lead. Usually booed at Dodger Stadium when he comes to the plate, he delivered after an intentional walk.
After Blanco singled in the seventh, he advanced to third on a hit-and-run when Yunei Escobar grounded out. But Lowe then got Chipper Jones on a comebacker to the mound, and ended the threat when Andre Ethier caught Teixeira's long fly close to the wall in left field.
The boos for Jones turned to cheers after his RBI single, then he trotted off the field to more cheers when he slid hard into Atlanta second baseman Kelly Johnson to break up a possible double play on DeWitt's grounder to shortstop.
(© 2008 The Associated Press. All Rights Reserved. This material may not be published, broadcast, rewritten, or redistributed.)
