Dodgers beat Washington, 4-3, in 13 innings

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There were the countless jams Clayton Kershaw had to escape. Two blown leads. A throwing error by Russell Martin that resulted in a failed four-out save attempt by closer Jonathan Broxton.

But at the end of 13 innings, the Dodgers emerged with a 4-3 victory over the Washington Nationals on Saturday as Martin broke the long-standing stalemate with a single to center that drove in Rafael Furcal.

Helping the Dodgers remain in the game for that long were two surprising contributors: embattled setup man George Sherrill, who pitched 1 1/3 perfect innings, and unproven long reliever Carlos Monasterios, who pitched the final 2 2/3 innings to earn the victory.

Broxton was six days removed from his last appearance. He sat patiently this week as the Dodgers blew leads or blew out opponents, making his presence on the mound unnecessary.

When the wait finally ended, Broxton found himself doing what his bullpen-mates have been doing, serving up a run-scoring single in the bottom of eighth inning.

The failed four-out save attempt wasn’t entirely Broxton’s fault, as a throwing error by Martin allowed Adam Kennedy to reach third base with the Dodgers holding a 3-2 lead. Broxton followed up the mishap by giving up a run-scoring single to Nyjer Morgan that tied the game.

Wasted were two home runs by Casey Blake, the second of which was a solo shot in the seventh inning that put the Dodgers ahead, 3-2.

One inning earlier, the Dodgers had given up a 2-1 lead when Kershaw gave up a two-out double to Alberto Gonzalez that was followed by a run-scoring single by pitcher Craig Stammen.

Kershaw put on a high-wire act, allowing the Nationals to move a runner into scoring position with two outs in every inning from the second to the sixth.

--Dylan Hernandez in Washington, D.C.