Diamondbacks 11, Dodgers 5
PHOENIX, Aug. 29 – Hyun-Jin Ryu is human, after all. The Arizona Diamondbacks showed that when they tagged the Cy Young Award candidate for seven runs on 10 hits, paving the way for an 11-5 win over the National League West-leading Los Angeles Dodgers Thursday night. The hometown nine gained at least one hit from every slot in the batting order en route to their fourth consecutive win. One standout was second baseman Wilmer Flores, who went 3-for-5 with two doubles, two RBI, and two runs scored.
Dodgers Jump Out to Early Lead
Initially, the game looked like bad news for the Diamondbacks and good news for the Dodgers. Left fielder Joc Pederson led off the game with a drive to right that Adam Jones tracked down. He jumped and got his glove on the ball, but it popped out, and Pederson ended up with a double. Pederson advanced to third when first baseman Matt Beaty grounded to second and then scored when third baseman Justin Turner hit a sacrifice fly to left.
Two innings later, the Dodgers extended their lead to 3-0. The rally began when Pederson and Beaty drew consecutive one-out walks. Turner then ripped a double into the left field corner, scoring Pederson and putting Beaty on third. After Diamondbacks starting pitcher Merrill Kelly walked National League co-home run leader Cody Bellinger intentionally, Dodgers center fielder A.J. Pollock drew a bases-loaded walk, scoring Beaty. Kelly got out of the jam, however, when shortstop Corey Seager lined to his counterpart, Nick Ahmed, and catcher Will Smith hit a foul popup to Diamondbacks first baseman Christian Walker.
Diamondbacks Roar Back
The tide turned in the fourth when the Diamondbacks batted around. Left fielder Tim Locastro reached first when a 3-2 pitch hit him on the kneecap. Third baseman Eduardo Escobar then poked a single into the Bermuda Triangle in center, moving Locastro up to second. After a passed ball allowed both runners to advance, Walker struck out, bringing up second baseman Wilmer Flores, who smoked a two-run double to center. Two hitters later, Ahmed ripped a two-out double to right, scoring Flores and tying the game at three.
An intentional walk to catcher Carson Kelly brought up the pitcher’s spot. Sensing the vulnerability, Diamondbacks manager Torey Lovullo sent Ildemaro Vargas up to pinch hit. The move paid off, as he lined an RBI single to right that also sent Kelly to third. Center fielder Ketel Marte then grounded to third, ending the inning with the score 4-3.
Dodgers Tie Game, then Diamondbacks Blow It Open
A one-out, bases-loaded sacrifice fly to center by Seager tied the game back up in the top of the fifth, but another big inning by the Diamondbacks blew it open in the bottom of the inning. Unlike the fourth, however, these hits all came with two outs. Walker and Flores hit consecutive singles to center, and then Jones crushed a double to right-center field that scored both. A single by Ahmed then brought him around, making the score 7-4. When Carson Kelly followed with a single, Ryu’s night was over. Left-handed reliever Adam Kolarek then retired pinch hitter Jake Lamb on a grounder to second, ending the inning.
The bottom of the sixth saw the Diamondbacks turn the game into a rout against right-handed reliever Joe Kelly. Marte opened with a single to left, extending his hitting streak to 11 games and his on-base streak to 22. Locastro then doubled to shallow center, advancing Marte to third. Up came Escobar. The switch-hitter, who was hitting left-handed, blasted a no-doubt home run into the pool area in right-center field, making the score 10-4. The Diamondbacks scored again in the bottom of the eighth, when a one-out double by Flores scored Walker all the way from first. In an otherwise uneventful ninth, a two-out home run by Turner – his 25th of the season – made the final score 11-5.
Milestones and Looking Ahead
Escobar’s three-run clout in the sixth gave him 30 home runs and 106 RBI for the season. He also has 10 triples, making him the fourth switch-hitter in major league history to have at least 30 home runs and at least 10 triples in the same season (Ripper Collins, St. Louis Cardinals, 1934; Mickey Mantle, New York Yankees, 1955; Jimmy Rollins, Philadelphia Phillies, 2007). He is also only the second switch-hitter to reach those home run and triple milestones while having 100 or more RBI, behind Collins.
Matt Andriese (5-4) earned the win in relief, while Ryu (12-5) took the loss. The teams play the second game of the four-game series Friday evening.
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