LOS ANGELES -- When Paul Goldschmidt stepped to the plate with one out in the eighth inning and the game tied at 1 on Tuesday afternoon, he was thinking one thing: Get on base.
Goldschmidt did more than that when he smacked a 3-0 pitch from Dodgers right-hander Chris Hatcher over the fence to give the D-backs their first lead in a game they would go on to win, 4-2, at Dodger Stadium.
"I was literally just trying to find a way on -- a single, a walk, a hit-by-pitch, whatever it took, Goldschmidt said. "We had a tie game there, so just try not to do too much. Fortunately able to score a run there."
Since he came to the big leagues in 2011, Goldschmidt's fortunes against the Dodgers have been very good.
Overall against L.A., Goldschmidt is 101-for-299 (.338) with 22 homers and 65 RBIs. At Dodger Stadium last year, he hit .450 with five home runs, but don't ask him to explain it.
"I don't notice any difference with any other park," Goldschmidt said. "I don't really have an answer for you. Some places you hit well, hopefully it will continue, but you never know. Tomorrow is a new day."
D-backs manager Chip Hale said he had no qualms about allowing Goldschmidt to swing at a 3-0 pitch.
"It's a tie game," Hale said. "He's a guy that can change a score with one swing."
And if you listen to Goldschmidt tell it, his approach up 3-0 in the count doesn't change.
"I just try to be ready to hit just like 0-0 or any other count," he said. "Just happened today that I happened to get a hit on it. It could have been any other count or I could have popped that out to the catcher and it could have been a different ending to the game or different questions that you would be asking."
As much success as Goldschmidt has had at Dodger Stadium, that's how the Dodgers have performed against the D-backs at Chavez Ravine.
Tuesday's win by the D-backs was just their fifth in their last 20 games at Dodger Stadium.
"It's a new season and we've got a new team, so it honestly hadn't even crossed my mind that they had played really well against us here the last two years," Goldschmidt said. "Hopefully it will change, but it's just one game."