Diamondbacks 7, Dodgers 2
PHOENIX, Sept. 25 —Ketel Marte went 3-for-5 with a homer and two runs scored, leading the Arizona Diamondbacks to a 7–2 victory over Clayton Kershaw and the Los Angeles Dodgers Saturday evening.
Marte, the second baseman, opened the scoring on Kershaw’s first pitch. One inning later, catcher Carson Kelly gave Kershaw’s second pitch a ride. The pair of homers gave the Diamondbacks a 2–0 lead. It grew to 3–0 in the bottom of the fourth thanks, in part, to an errant throw. With two outs and first baseman Christian Walker on second, shortstop Ildemaro Vargas hit a high bouncer to third. Justin Turner gloved it and fired across the diamond. He airmailed the throw, sailing it into the Dodgers dugout. Vargas went to second as Walker scored.
More scoring came in the bottom of the fifth. Gallen and Marte opened with consecutive singles, Gallen’s in the infield. Henry Ramos followed with a sharp grounder to third. Turner stepped on the bag to force Gallen. His throw to second was a hair late, as was the relay to first, but the force was still intact. Right fielder Daulton Varsho, up next, lined a single to left, bringing Marte across with the fourth run and ending Kershaw’s night. Reliever Brusdar Graterol took the hill to face Walker, who bounced into a 1-4-3 double play to end the inning.
Dodgers Avoid Shutout, but Diamondbacks Extend Lead
A majestic solo homer by Trea Turner into the left-field seats put the Dodgers on the board in the top of the sixth. The Diamondbacks regained a four-run lead in the bottom of the seventh. A leadoff walk by Jake McCarthy brought up pinch-hitter Kole Calhoun. After McCarthy took second on a wild pitch, Calhoun belted an RBI single to center.
The score became 7–1 in the bottom of the eighth. Third baseman Josh Rojas drew a one-out walk and advanced on a grounder to first by Vargas. McCarthy walked as well, putting runners on the corners for pinch-hitter David Peralta. After McCarthy took second on defensive indifference, Peralta drove both runners in with a single.
Trea Turner led off the ninth with a mammoth 443-foot homer to left, making the score 7–2. However, it was all the Dodgers could muster as the Diamondbacks hung on for the victory.
Postgame Reflections
Diamondbacks manager Torey Lovullo was pleased with his team’s effort. “You look up there and we (didn’t) have any errors. We got a well-pitched game, and it yielded us a win. There’s no mystery to it. I’ve sat here before you all season long talking about playing crisp, aggressive, attacking baseball on both sides. When we do that, we win baseball games. It was (also) nice to see us catch a couple of breaks. (Justin Turner) is a very, very good third baseman who doesn’t normally make throws like he did today, but we’ll definitely take advantage of that. It was a big extra run that we scored.”
Gallen called this start his most gratifying of the season. “…today was more of having a mental fortitude this year of plugging away. (I was) chipping away on certain things in my delivery, knowing I didn’t feel right. I’ve gone on the (injured list) three times. (I’m) trying to battle (and) chip away each day to see if I can make some progress. For it to finally click (tonight) and click against a lineup like that, and to get some revenge after the last outing” made it either “number one or one-B” on the entire season.
Looking Ahead
With the victory, the Diamondbacks (50–105) now need two more wins to avoid having the worst season in franchise history. The Dodgers (99–56) lost some ground in the NL West race. Shortly after this game ended, the division-leading San Francisco Giants (101–54) defeated the Colorado Rockies, 7–2, to take a two-game lead.
The Diamondbacks and Dodgers conclude their three-game series Sunday afternoon. Dodgers left-hander Julio Urias (18–3, 3.10 ERA) will take the hill against Humberto Mejia (0–2, 7.20 ERA) of the Diamondbacks. First pitch will be at 1:10 pm Pacific.
Main Photo:
Players/managers mentioned:
Ketel Marte, Clayton Kershaw, Carson Kelly, Christian Walker, Ildemaro Vargas, Justin Turner, Henry Ramos, Daulton Varsho, Brusdar Graterol, Trea Turner, Jake McCarthy, Kole Calhoun, Josh Rojas, David Peralta, Torey Lovullo, Julio Urias, Humberto Mejia
