Blauser’s Blow Beats Dodgers

Jeff Blauser had never hit a home run in the major leagues before, so he wasn’t quite sure how it felt.

Blauser hit his first major league home run with two out in the eighth inning to give the Atlanta Braves a 2-1 victory over the Los Angeles Dodgers Tuesday.

With the score tied 1-1, Blauser hit a pitch from reliever Jesse Orosco (2-2) over the left-field fence.

“I knew I hit it well,” Blauser said, “and I knew the wind was blowing across the outfield. But with my lack of power, I never expect one to go out.”

Blauser said his homer was a curveball.

“He (Orosco) had me on the ropes, and I wasn’t expecting too much,” Blauser added. “All I could do was wait for a pitch I could hit.”

Paul Assenmacher (7-6) got the victory in relief of starter Pete Smith. Bruce Sutter got the last three outs for his 13th save and 299th lifetime.

Smith, who entered the game with two shutouts in his previous three starts, allowed three hits and one run in 7 innings.

“As long as I keep us in the game, I’ll take it,” Smith said.

With one out in the Dodgers’ eighth, Mike Davis hit a pinch double and moved to third on a flyout. Smith walked pinch-hitter Chris Gwynn and Assenmacher relieved. Kirk Gibson then tied the score 1-1 with an infield single to first.

The Braves scored in the first when Dion James tripled with one out and Gerald Perry doubled off Tim Belcher.

Belcher allowed three hits in seven innings while striking out seven and walking one.

“Pitching and defense will win a lot of games, but eventually you’ve got to score some runs,” Belcher said.

Dale Murphy struck out three times for the Braves, and has fanned seven times in his last eight at-bats.