A GRAND COMEBACK BRADLEY'S SLAM GETS WEAVER OFF THE HOOK DODGERS 7, ATLANTA 4.

Byline: Rich Hammond  Staff Writer

Milton Bradley smiled, Jeff Weaver seethed and the rest of the Dodgers danced merrily into the late night Friday after another wild, come-from-behind victory, this time a 7-4 triumph over Atlanta.

Weaver gave up a grand slam to Adam LaRoche that gave Atlanta a 4-2 lead in the top of the eighth, after manager Jim Tracy made the tough decision to stay with his starting pitcher, then Bradley hit a grand slam in the bottom of the eighth off reliever Chris Reitsma to put the Dodgers back on top 6-4.

By the time Dodger Stadium stopped reverberating, and the sellout crowd of 53,689 had a chance to take a few deep breaths, the Dodgers had pulled out the remarkable victory, thanks mostly to Bradley.

Bradley also hit a solo homer in the fourth, which gave the Dodgers a 2-0 lead. The eighth-inning shot, after a questionable defensive play by LaRoche, was the third grand slam of Bradley's career and marked the second time this season that Bradley had homered from both sides of the plate in the same game.

``I was thinking, 'This is our opportunity'; we're at home and we always come back, so I didn't think a two-run lead was insurmountable,'' Bradley said. ``I worked the count to 3-1 and I thought he would probably come with his best pitch, a curveball or a changeup, and he threw a changeup.

``To pick up for Weaver, one of my best friends on the team, and get a win, that felt great.''

They took Weaver off the hook. Weaver didn't allow a hit until the sixth and had tossed seven shutout innings, but everything went out the window in the eighth, which the Dodgers began with the 2-0 lead.

It ended with Atlanta leading 4-2. Rafael Furcal's one-out double put runners on second and third. Weaver got Marcus Giles on a check-swing strikeout but then loaded the bases by walking Chipper Jones.

With LaRoche, a left-handed hitter, coming up, and Kelly Wunsch, a left-handed specialist, warming up, a call to the bullpen seemed likely, especially with Weaver's pitch count residing at 114.

But Tracy stuck with Weaver, and LaRoche crushed his 2-2 offering for a no-doubt grand slam to right-center field, the first grand slam of LaRoche's career.

After the game, Weaver dressed quickly and, not in a celebratory mood, had instructions for reporters.

``Go talk to the skipper,'' said Weaver, whose 119 pitches were the most he had thrown in a game since last June 1, when he threw 125.

Tracy defended the decision to stick with Weaver, noting that had he turned to Wunsch, the Braves likely would have countered with pinch-hitter Julio Franco.

``I wasn't going to take him out,'' Tracy said. ``Until that point, the hardest-hit ball had been a double by (pitcher) Horacio Ramirez. He had a ball and two strikes on Adam LaRoche and he was one pitch away. I wouldn't want anybody to take the ball away from me in that situation.''

Fortunately for the Dodgers, it wasn't the crucial pitch. Reitsma (1-1) relieved Ramirez to start the eighth and Cesar Izturis and pinch-hitter Ricky Ledee hit consecutive one-out singles off Reitsma. J.D. Drew then grounded a ball to LaRoche at first.

LaRoche first thought about throwing to second but didn't, then chose to try to beat Drew to first base instead of flipping the ball to Reitsma, who was rushing over to cover. Drew ran out an infield single to load the bases, then Jeff Kent flied out to left, too shallow for Izturis to tag up.

That brought up Bradley, who left no doubt with his towering grand slam to right.

Dodger fans demanded, and received, a curtain call from Bradley, and Hee-Seop Choi added a pinch-hit RBI single off reliever John Foster to give the Dodgers a three-run lead. Giovanni Carrara (4-0) got one out in the eighth for the win and Yhency Brazoban pitched the ninth for his 11th save.

Ramirez lasted seven innings, and allowed the two runs on seven hits, walked one and struck out two.

Rich Hammond, [phone]

Rich.hammond(at)dailynews.com

CAPTION(S):

2 photos, 5 boxes

Photo:

(1 -- color) Milton Bradley hits a grand slam, his second home run of the game, in the bottom of the eighth inning Friday.

(2) The Dodgers' J.D. Drew (7) is forced out at second by the Braves' Marcus Giles in the fourth on Friday at Dodger Stadium.

John Lazar/Staff Photographer

Box:

(1) DODGERS vs. ATLANTA

- Rich Hammond

(2) GAME RECAP

(3) HOW THE RUNS SCORED

(4) ALMANAC 

(5) STORY LINES