A-Gon plates five as Dodgers blank D-backs

PHOENIX -- The Dodgers stayed out of the pool Friday night and stuck to baseball at Chase Field, coasting to an easy 6-0 win over the weary D-backs behind five RBIs from Adrian Gonzalez and seven scoreless innings from Hyun-Jin Ryu.

Gonzalez, who came into the game hitting .189, went 3-for-4, as did Hanley Ramirez, who scored three times. Yasiel Puig returned from a sprained thumb, bumping Matt Kemp from the lineup, and he went 1-for-4 with a double and two runs scored. Dee Gordon hit two singles, raising his average to .405, and added his fifth stolen base.

Ryu, charged with six earned runs in two innings last Friday against the Giants, struck out eight with two hits and a walk. He allowed the leadoff batter to reach base the first two innings, but no Arizona runner reached second.

Manager Don Mattingly said Ryu had "a little funny bone thing" throwing out Martin Prado leading off the bottom of the seventh inning. Ryu then retired Miguel Montero on a grounder, struck out Mark Trumbo to end the inning and was relieved by Jamey Wright, who pitched the final two innings for the Dodgers' first shutout at Chase Field since 2003 and first shutout against Arizona since 2010.

"It was one of those games where everything went our way," said Mattingly. "They came off a trip, we got in early. We scored early and added on runs. There was no true stress. You don't get very many of these."

The game marked the Dodgers' first visit to Chase Field since last year's pool party celebrating the clinching of the National League West. That triggered a firestorm in Phoenix, as the infuriated D-backs considered the act disrespectful.

The Dodgers were well rested, having had Thursday off. The D-backs, however, played extra innings in San Francisco Thursday night, then arrived home in the early morning hours. Manager Kirk Gibson even canceled batting practice to give his team a few extra hours of rest.

The Dodgers are now 3-0 against Arizona this year, having won both games of the season-opening series in Sydney, Australia.

Ryu, who pitched five scoreless innings against Arizona in Australia, retired the last 10 batters he faced Friday night and threw 99 pitches. The two hits he allowed were a pair of singles by Montero.

"He was better than the first time we saw him," said Gibson, referring to Ryu's win in Sydney. "First-pitch strikes, he was pouring them in there, in any count throwing any pitch, stayed out of the middle of the plate, so he made it tough for us to get anything going on him. He's got good stuff. Tonight was a really good game against us. I mean, I'm not going to take anything away from him. Just all things considered, he threw a great game and we had no answer for him tonight."

Ryu stayed away from the changeup that got him in trouble against the Giants and relied on the slider against Arizona.

"He was amped up the first inning, and in the dugout I told him to slow down," said catcher Tim Federowicz.

Ryu was pitching on six days' rest, two more than normal in the Major Leagues but nearly the same rest he typically received during seven seasons pitching in Korea.

"Absolutely, the extra day makes a big difference," Ryu said. "In Korea we pitch on five days' rest, and I'm used to that. But it's my responsibility to get back on the mound when they need me."

The Dodgers' offense gave Ryu a quick two-run lead, Gonzalez following Ramirez's two-out single in the first inning with a line-drive homer to right, his third of the season and 25th lifetime against Arizona.

Gonzalez singled in two more runs in the third inning. Carl Crawford led off with a single and was erased at second on Puig's fielder's choice grounder. Ramirez lined a hit to left fielder Mark Trumbo, who threw late to third for Puig as Ramirez went to second, credited with a double. Gonzalez then singled up the middle to score both.

Arizona starter Brandon McCarthy escaped further damage in the third by getting a double-play grounder from Juan Uribe, the first of 11 consecutive batters he retired.

But the Dodgers added two runs in the eighth on back-to-back doubles by Puig and Ramirez and Gonzalez's RBI single.

"People were talking about my average, but I know it's not something to focus on," said Gonzalez. "I knew if I stayed positive eventually it would turn around. I feel good at the plate, got a good finish to my swing and I want to be consistent with it."