Chris Taylor drives in three runs to help Dodgers end two-game slide

In late June, as his batting average sunk beneath .300 and his importance to the Dodgers lineup dimmed, Chris Taylor began to study video of himself. He was unhappy with the images he saw. His head was moving too much at the plate. He invested too much of his body in his swing, which distorted the direction of his bat.

Taylor vowed to re-create the revamped swing he displayed when the team called him up in mid-April. After three weeks in July, including a late-game infusion of offense in a 6-2 victory over the Atlanta Braves on Saturday, Taylor can consider his adjustments a success.

“It was just about simplifying things,” Taylor said. “Not trying to over-swing. Just get the barrel on the ball.”

On the bench for the first six innings of the night, Taylor drove in three runs in two at-bats to help his team end a two-game losing streak. He swatted a solo homer in the seventh. An inning later, he slashed a two-out, two-run triple. In the process, he upped his batting average for July to .429 and stabilized his season on-base-plus-slugging percentage at .920.

The Dodgers (67-31) still have not lost three in a row since the first week of June. Clayton Kershaw can salvage a split for the series in the finale on Sunday.

The team had grabbed the lead in the sixth inning when Yasmani Grandal barreled through a tag at the plate placed by opposing catcher Tyler Flowers. The offense produced a pair of solo homers earlier in the night by Corey Seager and Chase Utley. Rich Hill (7-4, 3.48 earned-run average) allowed the Braves to tie the score in the fifth, but stuck around to log 61/3 innings without further damage.

“The effectiveness was good,” manager Dave Roberts said about Hill. “The efficiency could have been better. But as far as the pitch quality — very good.”

Taylor is not the only Dodger to rescue his season in late June. Hill did something similar, a process he extended with his sixth reassuring outing in a row on Saturday. He had been adrift for most of the first half. His blisters resurfaced in April and caused two trips to the disabled list. Upon his return in mid-May, he failed to deliver his fastball and curveball to the strike zone with regularity.

A tip from President of Baseball Operations Andrew Friedman, who provided Hill with information showing his performance while in the windup versus the stretch, aided Hill’s resurgence. Hill saw he threw much better when runners were on base than when the bases were empty. Inspired by the data, Hill modified his delivery to cut down on his windup, even when there were no men aboard.

The difference was stark. In his first eight starts, Hill posted a 5.14 ERA and never pitched into the sixth inning. In his next five outings, Hill produced a 1.74 ERA and completed the seventh inning three times.

“It’s much more fun when you don’t [stink],” Hill said. “It’s good to contribute to the team. That’s what I want to do.”

Before the game, Hill popped some Mucinex to deal with a cold filtering through the clubhouse. He struck out the side in the first inning. He yielded a pair of singles in the second, but recovered to strike out two more in a scoreless frame. In between, the offense provided him a one-run lead.

Seager had supplied only one hit in the first two nights of this series. He delivered his second with one out in the first. Julio Teheran challenged him with a full-count fastball at the waist. Seager answered with a towering drive to right-center field. The ball landed deep in the pavilion.

The Dodgers doubled their lead in the bottom of the inning. Teheran ran a 92-mph fastball inside to Utley. Utley turned on the pitch and deposited it inside the Atlanta bullpen in right field. It was his sixth homer of the season. “We hit some balls hard tonight,” Utley said.

Through four innings, Hill struck out eight. He had thrown 69 pitches when the fifth began. His 73rd pitch proved problematic. It was a curveball that spun across the plate and into the legs of Teheran. The mistake gave Atlanta a free baserunner. Two batters later, second baseman Johan Camargo doubled for the second time on the evening. First baseman Freddie Freeman drove Teheran in with a grounder.

Up came former Dodgers All-Star Matt Kemp with a runner in scoring position. He did not wait to attack. Hill flung a curveball. Kemp roped it into left for a game-tying single.

The Dodgers picked up the lead in the sixth. Taylor replaced Trayce Thompson in left field during a double switch to start the seventh. He made his two at-bats count.

“It’s scary to see he’s getting better,” Utley said. “He just puts quality at-bat after quality at-bat together.”

andy.mccullough@latimes.com

Twitter: @McCulloughTimes