Dodgers lose Brett Anderson to Achilles injury, game to Braves

Now that hurt. Forget all that dread mixed with hopefulness, Brett Anderson made it past the season’s halfway point as a healthy left-hander. The Dodgers held a mini-celebration.

Then came a hot, humid Tuesday night in Atlanta. And no more celebration.

Anderson left the game in the third inning with irritation in his left Achilles’ tendon, the Dodgers ultimately going on to a 4-3 loss to the Braves at Turner Field.

Anderson has thrown 110 2/3 innings this season, which for the injury-prone starter was already newsworthy. It’s the most he’s thrown since going 112 1/3 innings in 2010.

So Anderson getting battered is nothing new, even if his latest injury is a new one. His injuries have mostly been like this one, of the non-pitching variety. He’s lost time to foot, finger, back and elbow issues.

Now with starters Brandon McCarthy and Hyun-Jin Ryu lost for the season to surgeries and Brandon Beachy failing to complete his comeback from a second Tommy John surgery (he was sent down before the game), the Dodgers can hardly afford to lose Anderson.

Anderson, 27, is 5-5 with a 3.33 ERA this season and has been a solid mid-rotation starter for the Dodgers. He is not, however, their most athletic pitcher and Tuesday he missed a soft chopper hit to the left of the mound hit by Jonny Gomes, dropping it and then kicking it foul.

Anderson bent over and motioned to the dugout. He quickly left the game with trainer Stan Conte. The Dodgers gave no immediate timetable for Anderson’s return, saying he would be re-evaluated Wednesday. The good news was there was no obvious tear to the Achillies.

The Dodgers were already without an announced starter for Saturday and now could need another Sunday. Given the McCarthy and Ryu injuries, the Dodgers were already looking to add a starting pitcher prior to the July 31 nonwaiver trade deadline. Now they could be feeling even more pressure to add an arm. Or two.

Anderson gave up three runs and five hits with two walks in his brief stint.

The Dodgers wasted solo home runs from Justin Turner and Yasiel Puig in the loss. They briefly tied the game in the fifth when reliever Chin-hui Tsao hit a ground-rule double and scored on a Howie Kendrick single.

The Braves went back up in the bottom of the inning with an unearned run against Tsao. Nick Markakis singled and took third on a Joc Pederson fielding error. Juan Uribe knocked in the winning run with a single.

Left-hander Alex Wood (7-6) went 6 2/3 innings for the Braves, giving up the three runs on six hits and four walks.

Puig threw out catcher Ryan Lavarnway, a Dodger for a heartbeat in the off-season, trying to stretch a single into a double in the sixth.

The Dodgers were not overjoyed – again – at the umpiring behind the plate. Manager Don Mattingly was ejected by plate umpire James Hoye in the eighth for arguing balls and strikes after a Turner at-bat.