Yasmani Grandal delivers in Dodgers’ 2-1, 10-inning win over Braves

A pack of ice covered the right forearm of Yasmani Grandal as he stood inside the visitors’ clubhouse at Turner Field. It was his final bit of maintenance on the muscle — a program that includes exercises to activate his triceps, strengthen his scapula and protect the forearm — that he has maintained since he began the season marooned in extended spring training.

“I’m not going to just stop,” Grandal said. “I don’t want anything to change.”

Why would he? In seven games since rejoining the Dodgers from the disabled list, Grandal has batted .438, including the go-ahead hit in the 10th inning of Thursday’s 2-1 victory over the Atlanta Braves. He came off the bench to record his fourth double, tied for the team lead, and end an ungainly series here.

“Ever since he came back, he’s just putting consistent at-bats together, and he’s very good behind the plate,” Manager Dave Roberts said. “Calm under pressure.”

The atmosphere at Turner Field, which the Braves will vacate after this season for nouveau digs in nearby Cobb County, did not appear to induce anxiety. Empty seats outnumbered the fans, and a sizable contingent of the crowd rooted for the Dodgers. After getting routed on Tuesday, the team rallied for a pair of extra-innings victories and captured its third consecutive series.

The Dodgers (10-6) did not earn points for artistry. Roberts stacked the bottom of his lineup with reserves in deference to the 12:10 p.m. start time, and watched the group strand 13 runners. There were 10 strikeouts and only two extra-base hits.

Clayton Kershaw sullied his uniform getting thrown out at home plate in the seventh inning. He gave up 10 hits, the most he has given up in a game since the Colorado Rockies dinged him for 11 on Sept. 2, 2013. It was the first time in Kershaw’s career that he gave up double digits in hits while also recording double digits in strikeouts (10).

“Weird day,” Kershaw said. “You give up a bunch of runs and you give up 10 hits, they say ‘You got shelled.’ If you don’t give a bunch of runs but you give up 10 hits, they say ‘You scattered them.’ Just a weird deal.”

Kershaw maintained his ongoing displeasure with his curveball and slider. Through four starts, he has experienced intermittent success with his two primary breaking balls. At times, he can command them. At times, they skid into the dirt, refusing to behave.

Yet through four outings, Kershaw has logged 30 innings with a 1.50 earned-run average. He lasted at least seven innings in each start.

“He finds a way to gut it out,” Roberts said. “You look at the line score: That was dominance.”

Kershaw did not experience an auspicious opening. Spotted a run after a run-scoring single by Joc Pederson in the first, Kershaw gave up doubles to the first two Atlanta batters. The Braves rapped five hits in their first seven at-bats, and loaded the bases with no outs in the second.

Kershaw pushed aside rookie outfielder Mallex Smith with three fastballs. Then came Matt Wisler, Atlanta’s starting pitcher. He chopped a grounder up the middle. Second baseman Chase Utley dived to his right. He tossed the ball over his shoulder to shortstop Corey Seager to start an inning-ending double play.

Roberts called that “a game-changer.” Kershaw gushed about Utley, the 37-year-old, six-time former All-Star.

“If I ever have a son,” Kershaw said, “I’m going to tell him, ‘Watch the way that Chase plays the game. That’s the way you want to play the game.’”

Kershaw came up to hit with two outs in the seventh. He barreled into second base after Smith collided with Jeff Francouer in the outfield. When Seager singled two batters later, third base coach Chris Woodward sent Kershaw home.

Francouer threw to the plate and Kershaw slid as catcher Tyler Flowers reached for him. Kershaw’s left leg appeared to reach the plate before Flowers applied the tag. But umpire Angel Hernandez called Kershaw out, and a replay review confirmed the decision.

“I felt safe, obviously,” Kershaw said. “Even looking at the replay, I don’t know if it was 100%, but I feel like if someone was looking at that blind, without knowing the outcome, they would probably say ‘Safe.’”

Roberts called Grandal off the bench to hit in the eighth. He walked, and needed to wait two more innings for a chance to swing the bat. After a one-out single by Enrique Hernandez, Grandal hoped for an elevated fastball from reliever Alexi Ogando.

Ogando made his day: A 93-mph fastball that bisected the plate.

Grandal drilled his double off the wall in center. He pumped his fist and faced his teammates in the dugout, his dwelling for the first seven innings of the game. His late arrival aided another successful series.

“Winning a series is always big,” Grandal said. “It’s basically what we want to do. We just want to win every series we can get.”

andy.mccullough@latimes.com

Twitter: @McCulloughTimes