|
 Gonzalez had a two-run homer and drove in five runs in the
Dodgers' 6-0 victory behind Hyun-Jin Ryu at Chase Field on Friday,
extending his remarkable run against the Diamondbacks.
Gonzalez, who has spent most of his 11-year career in the National
League West, leads active players with 25 home runs and 82 RBIs
against Arizona.
"Sometimes that's just a way a career plays out," said Gonzalez, who
played five years in San Diego and is in his third with the Dodgers.
"You can't focus on one thing, because it hasn't been over a
two-year period. It's been over a longer period. There have been
different catchers, different pitchers, different coaching staffs.
It has nothing to do with something you can pinpoint."
Gonzalez hit his third homer of the season in the first inning
before adding a two-run single in the third and a run-scoring single
in the eighth, all off Diamondbacks starter Brandon McCarthy (0-2).
"First-pitch fastball, and I was able to put a good swing on it,"
Gonzalez said of his two-out homer in the first. "He left it middle,
and he was trying to go away. After that it was two hits that found
holes. It's not like I put some great swings on the balls. I was
looking for one pitch, I got a different pitch. Just was able to
find holes."
Shortstop Hanley Ramirez had two doubles and a single and scored
three times for the Dodgers (7-4), who have won three of their last
four games.
Ryu (2-1) gave up two hits and struck out eight in five innings. He
has thrown 12 scoreless innings against Arizona this season after
pitching the first five innings of a 7-5 victory in Sydney,
Australia, on March 23.
"He was very, very good, better than the first time we saw him,"
Arizona manager Kirk Gibson said. "First-pitch strikes. He was
pouring them in there, any count. Staying out of the middle. He made
it tough for us to get anything going."
Catcher Miguel Montero had the Diamondbacks' only hits off Ryu, both
singles, and the D-backs did not get a runner past first base. Ryu
walked one.
Arizona (4-9) has been outscored by 27 runs this season, the
greatest discrepancy in the majors.
"You want to work ahead, anybody knows that," Gibson said. "We
haven't done a lot of that this year.
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McCarthy has given up five home runs this season, tied with the New
York Yankees' CC Sabathia for the major-league high, and has given
up 17 earned runs in 19 2/3 innings in his three starts. After Gonzalez's homer in the first and his single for a 4-0 lead
in the third, McCarthy retired 11 straight batters before the
Dodgers added their final two runs in the eighth, Ramirez doubling
in the first run.
"I'm actually throwing not terribly," McCarthy said. "I don't know
what the hell is going on. It's a morally defeating game, especially
to kind of have it figured out in the middle innings. It's just a
few pitches here or there that have gone wrong that have really hurt
me."
NOTES: Dodgers RF Yasiel Puig was 1-for-4 with a double and a run in
his return to the starting lineup for the first time since April 5
after making one pinch-hit appearance in the last three games
because of a thumb injury. ... The D-backs signed LHP Randy Wolf to
a minor league contract and will send him to Triple-A Reno. Wolf
missed the 2013 season after undergoing Tommy John surgery in
September 2012 and spent spring training with Seattle. ... The
Dodgers played the D-backs in Arizona for the first time since
celebrating in the Chase Field pool after clinching the 2013 NL West
pennant on Sept. 19, 2013. There were no incidents. ... Dodgers LHP
Clayton Kershaw (back) and Chad Billingsley (elbow) played catch
from 75 feet Friday afternoon. Kershaw won his only start this
season, giving up one run in 6 2/3 innings of a 3-1 victory on March
22 in Australia. ... Arizona RHP Josh Collmenter will join the
starting rotation Monday, manager Kirk Gibson announced after the
game, and RHP Randall Delgado (0-1, 10.13 in two starts) will move
to the bullpen.
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