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Dodgers lose, 3-2, to Braves, may have lost Hyun-Jin Ryu to injury

Dodgers starting pitcher Hyun-Jin Ryu (99) is examined after injuring himself in the sixth inning of a game against the Braves on Wednesday night in Atlanta.
(Erik S. Lesser / EPA)
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Finally losing to the Atlanta Braves, that was probably inevitable. Losing left-hander Hyun-Jin Ryu to injury, that’s not any part of the Dodgers’ future plan.

The Dodgers had gone 5-0 against the Braves this season, but fell, 3-2, on Wednesday at Turner Field in Atlanta.

It was a fairly lackadaisical effort by the Dodgers until missing out on a bases-loaded situation in the ninth inning, but of more concern was the potential loss of Ryu.

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Ryu was unbeaten in his last five starts, but left Wednesday’s game with two out in the sixth inning after walking B.J. Upton and quickly pointing to his right leg.

He left the game and shortly afterward the Dodgers announced he had suffered a right gluteus muscle strain. They called him day to day, but Kevin Correia’s stay in the bullpen could prove short.

The Dodgers already have starter Josh Beckett and swingman Paul Maholm on the disabled list, and lost Chad Billingsley for the season to elbow surgery.

In his 5 2/3 innings, Ryu (13-6) allowed three runs on six hits and two walks. He struck out seven.

The Dodgers gave Ryu an early 2-0 lead when they put together five hits against right-hander Ervin Santana, the only inning Santana struggled.

After striking out the side in the first inning, Santana (12-6) got into immediate trouble in the second when Matt Kemp led off with a double and scored on an RBI single from Carl Crawford.

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Juan Uribe’s hit moved Crawford to second base before A.J. Ellis bounced into a double play. But Miguel Rojas, continuing to show he might be more than just a good glove, singled to score Crawford.

The Braves got one back in the bottom of the inning when Evan Gattis doubled, took third base on a Chris Johnson sacrifice bunt and scored on an Andrelton Simmons groundout to second.

Atlanta tied it in the fourth inning on a soft single by Simmons and scored the winning run in the fifth when Jason Heyward singled, Freddie Freeman was hit by a pitch and Justin Upton singled.

Santana went six innings, giving up the two runs on eight hits and two walks. He struck out nine.

The Dodgers missed out on a rare game-winning opportunity against famed Atlanta closer Craig Kimbrel in the ninth. Andre Ethier worked a walk, Dee Gordon beat out a bunt single, and after Yasiel Puig struck out for the fourth time, Adrian Gonzalez singled to left to load the bases. Upton had Ethier out at third base after fielding the sinking line drive, but mistakenly threw late to second.

Kimbrel survived to earn his 35th save when he induced Kemp to hit into a double play.

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