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 Center fielder A.J. Pollock and first baseman Paul Goldschmidt hit
back-to-back homers in the seventh inning, and third baseman Brandon
Drury added a three-run shot in the ninth, sparking the Diamondbacks
to an 8-0 rout of the Dodgers on Tuesday night at Dodger Stadium.
Left-hander Robbie Ray delivered a solid outing as the Diamondbacks
(73-78) beat the Dodgers (85-65) and extended Los Angeles' home skid
to a season-high four straight.
Ray (5-12) struck out seven and walked two while limiting Los
Angeles to three hits in six innings. He is 2-8 since the All-Star
break, with both wins coming against the Dodgers.
"It's always fun pitching here," said Ray, who has allowed three or
fewer runs in 12 of his past 13 starts. "They bring a good
atmosphere every time out. It's fun to keep them quiet."
Arizona manager Chip Hale said of Ray, "He did a great job. He came
out and he was firing, velocity was up, he was attacking the
hitters. He just gave us what we needed and what he needed. It was a
great job."
Drury added his first major league homer to highlight a five-run
ninth as Arizona blew the game open. The Dodgers' magic number to
clinch their third consecutive National League West title remained
at seven with the San Francisco Giants beating the San Diego Padres
4-2.
"We haven't won anything yet," Dodgers catcher A.J. Ellis said.
"It's time for us to buckle down (and) play a little bit better than
we have these last four games. It hasn't been good. We need to turn
the page, shower this game off and come tomorrow ready and expecting
to play like a team that wants to win."
Arizona shortstop Nick Ahmed led off the fourth with a double down
the left field line, and he advanced to third on a sacrifice by
second baseman Chris Owings. Ahmed scored on a groundout by Pollock
for a 1-0 lead.
Pollock, who went 2-for-4 and extended his hitting streak to a
career-high 11 games, drilled a solo home run over the wall in
center with one out in the seventh for a 2-0 advantage.
That was enough to chase Los Angeles lefty Alex Wood (11-11), who
also pitched well, allowing two runs on three hits with six
strikeouts and no walks in 6 1/3 innings. Before the Pollock homer,
Wood retired 10 consecutive batters.
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"He's a pretty good hitter," said Wood, who bounced back from a
rough start in Arizona on Sept. 11, when he served up eight runs in
1 2/3 innings in a 12-4 loss. "It was a good pitch. I think he might
have been looking for it. He put a good swing on it. I was kind of
surprised it got out. You tip your cap."
Goldschmidt tipped his to Wood.
"Wood did a great job out there. I don't know if he made a mistake
all night," said Goldschmidt, who went 2-for-4 and homered for the
second consecutive game. "Robbie was matching him, and he gave us a
chance where he didn't have to press. We scored some runs late to
pull away."
Goldschmidt followed Pollock's homer with his own off reliever Chris
Hatcher to make it 3-0. It was Goldschmidt's 30th home run this
season. He is the fourth Diamondback to have multiple seasons of 30
or more home runs, joining Steve Finley (1999-2000), Luis Gonzalez
(2000-01) and Mark Reynolds (2009-10).
Ahmed left the game in the seventh with a jammed lower back after
making a diving stop of a grounder by Dodgers third baseman Alex
Guerrero. Hale didn't believe Ahmed would play Wednesday.
NOTES: Dodgers INF Justin Turner sat out a third consecutive game.
Turner, who pulled himself out of Saturday's game against the
Pittsburgh Pirates, is nursing a sore knee. ... Despite hitting .322
(92-for-286) and scoring 51 runs (6.4 per game) in the previous
eight games against Los Angeles, the Diamondbacks won just three of
those contests. ... The Dodgers recalled LHP Adam Liberatore from
Triple-A Oklahoma City, and he gave up two runs in the ninth inning.
... Former Dodgers manager Tommy Lasorda celebrated his 88th
birthday, while ex-Dodger OF "Sweet" Lou Johnson turned 81. ...
Diamondbacks RHP Chase Anderson (6-6, 4.52 ERA) will face Dodgers
RHP Zack Greinke (18-3, 1.65 ERA) on Wednesday. ... A crowd of
41,419 attended the contest.
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