Anthony Varvaro's second wild pitch of the 10th inning allowed pinch-runner Skip Schumaker to score the winning run in Los Angeles' 2-1 victory on Friday night.
Paul Maholm gave up one run and four hits in 7 1-3 innings, struck out three and walked two.
"We've got a great offense, so we've got to go out there and give them a chance," Maholm said. "Unfortunately, we weren't able to capitalize on a number of situations."
Tim Hudson turned in a strong outing in the series opener on Thursday only to lose 5-0.
Maholm had received more than six runs of support per game coming in. The Braves had totaled 29 runs while winning the left-hander's four previous starts.
"Pauly was outstanding. He induced three double plays and he had those guys swinging aggressive early," Atlanta manager Fredi Gonzalez said.
"That's three straight terrific outings from our starters, if you go back to (Julio) Teheran on Wednesday. We got two outstanding outings here and we got two L's out of it. We scored one run in 19 innings, so that's the way it goes sometimes. That's baseball. It's a cruel game sometimes."
Ramon Hernandez started the Dodgers' rally with a one-out single, took second on the first wild pitch and advanced to third on a single by Luis Cruz.
Varvaro (3-1) then bounced another wild pitch to Juan Uribe, allowing Schumaker to score. Dodgers rookie Yasiel Puig was on-deck, but he wasn't needed after homering for the fourth time in five career games.
Brandon League (2-2) got the win in relief.
The Dodgers have won four of five since Puig was called up on Monday from the minors. It was their second straight win over the NL East-leading Braves, who lost for the first time in six games on Thursday.
With a runner on second in the 10th, Justin Upton hit a dribbler picked up by catcher Hernandez, who fired the ball to first base. Umpire CB Bucknor called Upton out to end the inning, although the replay clearly showed he had beaten the throw. Gonzalez came out to argue to no avail.
"He thought he got it closer than what we thought in the dugout," Gonzalez said. "I haven't seen the replay, but in real life, I didn't think it was even that close. After I go back and watch the film, I think I'm going to be pretty correct on that."
The Dodgers had the potential go-ahead run on third with two outs in the eighth when reliever Jordan Walden intentionally walked Puig, the first time this week a team didn't want to pitch to the rookie. Mark Ellis flied out to end the inning.
Puig tied the game 1-all with his fourth homer and 10th RBI of the week with two outs in the sixth. He sent an 0-1 pitch into the left field pavilion not long after being shown losing the "Chopstick Challenge" on the video board. He managed just 12 points competing against a female fan in moving baseballs from one bin to the other using chopsticks.
Puig tied the record for most RBIs through five career games, shared by Danny Espinosa (2010) and Jack Merson (1951), according to information provided to the Dodgers by Elias Sports Bureau.
The Braves led 1-0 on Dan Uggla's RBI single with two outs in the fourth.
Hyun-Jin Ryu returned to the mound after missing his last start for the Dodgers. He bruised his left foot on May 28 against the Angels, when he tossed the first shutout of his career in a 3-0 victory. The left-hander allowed one run and six hits in 7 2-3 innings, struck out six and walked one.
NOTES: Puig is the second player since 1900 to hit four homers in his first five games, joining Mike Jacobs of the New York Mets in 2005, according to Elias. ... Dodgers INF Hanley Ramirez was out of the starting lineup for the second straight game on Friday because of tightness in his left hamstring, but he pinch-hit in the ninth. "For me it's a concern because it's two days," manager Don Mattingly said. The same hamstring landed Ramirez on the DL earlier this season. ... Dodgers LHP Ted Lilly is in doubt to start Sunday's series finale. He was bothered last time out by a chronic neck issue and Mattingly said if Lilly can't make his start, a minor leaguer would be called up. ... Braves RHP Brandon Beachy will make his fourth injury rehab start on Saturday for Triple-A Gwinnett.
Atlanta Braves starting pitcher Paul Maholm throws to a Los Angeles Dodgers batter during the first inning of a baseball game Friday, June 7, 2013, in Los Angeles. / photo: Associated Press
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