Andre Ethier hits HR to help Dodgers win over Braves 5-4

LOS ANGELES — Comeback wins have become commonplace this season for the stubborn Los Angeles Dodgers, especially the walkoff kind. And unlike that team down the freeway in Anaheim, they don’t need the Rally Monkey to cavort on the scoreboard when things get tight.

They just need Andre Ethier at the plate.

Thursday night, Ethier hit a three-run homer in the bottom of the ninth off Atlanta closer Rafael Soriano to give the Dodgers a 5-4 victory over the Braves. It was his fifth game-winning hit this season, in which the Dodgers have 11 walkoff wins.

“They never get old,” Ethier said. “It’s always jaw-dropping once you see it either land or go over the fence.”

Ethier, who leads the Dodgers with 23 homers and 72 RBIs, has eight game-ending hits since the start of the 2008 season, more than anyone else in the majors.

“He’s been incredible in that situation,” said manager Joe Torre, whose team was in danger of its eighth loss in 12 games before Ethier’s latest clutch hit. “This kid hasn’t really played a lot of major league baseball. And to just have that kind of calm in those situations is pretty special.”

Peter Moylan struck out pinch-hitter Matt Kemp with runners at second and third to end the Dodgers eighth and rookie Scott Elbert (2-0) pitched a hitless ninth for Los Angeles before Soriano (1-3) gave up his third homer of the season in 50 innings.

“He has three pitches,” Ethier said. “You can for the most part cross a few out in that situation just knowing the count. And if he does throw it, you take your chance in that situation, swinging. And that’s what I went there and did and looked for the right pitch in that spot and went and got it.”

The blown save was Soriano’s third in 19 attempts — including a 4-3 loss at Florida on July 28, when he surrendered a two-run homer by pinch-hitter Ross Gload.

“No one feels any worse than Soriano,” Braves starter Derek Lowe said. “Anytime something happens where your team ends up walking off the field like that, you feel the worst. But there were eight other innings before that. I knew, having played here, that they’re extremely good at home.

“I don’t know how many comeback wins they have — especially late — but it seems like they do it quite often. They’re never out of it, and they have the best record for a reason.”

Juan Pierre led off the ninth with an infield hit that third baseman Chipper Jones couldn’t make a play on after failing to bare-hand the dribbler. Rafael Furcal’s hit-and-run single sent Pierre to third, and Ethier drove a 2-0 pitch to right field for his third game-winning homer of the season.

It gave the Dodgers their 29th come-from-behind victory to improve the best record in the majors to 67-42.

“The thing that’s been satisfying to me is that these guys go out there and bust it every night,” Torre said. “They play every inning and keep coming back at people. So with that part of the batting order coming up in the ninth inning, all we had to do was get the tying run to the plate and we had a chance.

“Soriano fell behind him 2-0, and he knows that Manny (Ramirez) is behind Ethier. So it’s that old rock-and-a hard-place, and he has to throw a strike.”

Lowe threw enough strikes over 6 1-3 innings against his former team to depart with a 3-2 lead. The right-hander, who signed a four-year, $60 million contract with the Braves in January, faced the Dodgers for the second time in six days after his 4-3 victory against Randy Wolf in Atlanta.

“The thing about Derek is that he really doesn’t change the way he goes about his business,” Dodgers catcher Russell Martin said. “He’s going to throw sinkers away, mix in his breaking ball, and he’ll occasionally come in with the two-seamer just to keep you honest. It’s always a plus to know that about him, but hitting that sinker down and away is still hard to do.”

Wolf pitched seven innings in his rematch with Lowe and allowed four runs on nine hits, including Jones’ 14th homer and 422nd of his career. The no-decision was the left-hander’s 13th in 24 starts.

“D-Lowe pitched a great game, but so did Wolf and we found a way to get it done,” Ethier said.

At Philadelphia, Cliff Lee pitched seven impressive innings in his home debut and Paul Bako hit a tiebreaking homer.

Lee (2-0) allowed one run and six hits, striking out nine in his first start at Citizens Bank Park since the Phillies acquired him from Cleveland last week. The reigning AL Cy Young Award winner tossed a complete-game, four-hitter in a 5-1 win at San Francisco last Friday.

Jimmy Rollins had three hits and scored two runs, falling a homer short of the cycle.

At Washington, Ryan Zimmerman finished a double short of the cycle, and Ronnie Belliard’s tiebreaking single in the eighth inning helped Washington rally from a six-run deficit.

At Pittsburgh, Alex Romero’s two-run double highlighted Arizona’s five-run 12th inning and the Diamondbacks won their fifth straight.

Romero’s fourth hit was a double off Steven Jackson (2-2) with the bases loaded and one out in the 12th.

Mark Reynolds, Stephen Drew and Trent Oeltjen, making his major league debut, homered and Parra had four hits for Arizona, which trailed 6-3 after six innings.

Jon Rauch (2-0) worked out of a two-on, no-out jam in the 11th.

At San Diego, Adrian Gonzalez hit a two-run homer in a four-run third inning and drove in three runs.

Gonzalez’s 29th home run and his sacrifice fly in the first helped San Diego take a 7-0 lead and the Padres beat the Mets for the 10th time in 13 games and for the sixth straight time at home.

Rookie Clayton Richard (1-0) had his first big league RBI.

Livan Hernandez (7-6) allowed seven runs and eight hits in five innings as New York lost for the sixth time in eight games.