D-backs' three homers keep Dodgers at bay
LOS ANGELES -- Yasmany Tomas, Aaron Hill and Paul Goldschmidt homered and the D-backs chased Dodgers starter Brett Anderson with a three-run fifth inning in an 8-4 win at Dodger Stadium on Monday night. With San Francisco idle, the Dodgers' magic number remained at 7.
Jhoulys Chacin allowed two runs in 5 1/3 innings to pick up his first win for Arizona. Adrian Gonzalez and Yasmani Grandal homered for the Dodgers. Anderson was charged with five runs on 10 hits in 4 2/3 innings.
"I started throwing more breaking balls. In the first, I got two quick outs then they started jumping my fastball, so I started mixing up more and trying to use more breaking balls," Chacin said. "My first two innings I really had to battle."
Video: ARI@LAD: Chacin whiffs Utley in the 2nd
Anderson allowed two of the home runs and has served up a team-high 17.
"The Diamondbacks were better than I was tonight," he said. "They had a good game plan, were swinging early in the count and I just didn't pitch well."
MOMENTS THAT MATTERED
Attacking early ... and often: The D-backs ran Anderson from the game in the fifth inning by hitting him hard early in the count. Hill led off with a home run on the second pitch of the at-bat, then A.J. Pollock and Goldschmidt followed suit with base hits on the first pitch. Welington Castillo ripped an RBI single on the second pitch he saw. After two fielder's choice groundouts that allowed another run to cross the plate, Anderson was gone.
Video: ARI@LAD: Castillo lines an RBI single in the 5th
"We had to take advantage of pitches he made a mistake on," D-backs manager Chip Hale said. "So instead of taking it for strike one, or even a ball if it was up, if we could handle it, we wanted to get it. I thought they did a nice job."
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Early chances: The Dodgers stranded five runners in the first two innings. Grandal struck out to end the first inning with runners on second and third and Howie Kendrick lined out to right field with the bases loaded to end the second inning.
Pinched: The Dodgers got into the D-backs' bullpen after Chacin walked two in the sixth inning, and Don Mattingly had his pick of matchups with a pair of pinch-hitters, but the Dodgers couldn't come through. Scott Van Slyke hit for Joc Pederson to get a right-hander against a lefty reliever, only to strike out. Scott Schebler followed after the D-backs brought in right-hander David Hernandez, but he was fooled on a curveball and also struck out to end the inning.
Video: ARI@LAD: Hernandez fans Schebler to end the jam
Peralta produces: Though he didn't get the start because there was a left-hander on the mound, David Peralta came through for the D-backs as a pinch-hitter. He was 2-for-2 with two stolen bases and a crucial two-run single off reliever Ian Thomas in the ninth inning to push the lead to 8-4 and give the D-backs insurance. More >
Video: ARI@LAD: Peralta beats the shift with two-run single
QUOTABLE
"Our offense just came alive when the ball was up. We attacked them early when the ball was up." -- Hale on his team's offensive performance.
A FIRST FOR UTLEY
Chase Utley made his professional debut at third base when he started there in place of the injured Justin Turner. More >
Video: ARI@LAD: Utley retires Castillo in debut at third
SOUND SMART WITH YOUR FRIENDS
Rookie Corey Seager had an RBI double and walk, reaching base safely in his first 16 career starts to set a Los Angeles Dodgers record.
Video: ARI@LAD: Seager rips an RBI double down the line
WHAT'S NEXT
D-backs: Robbie Ray takes the mound for game two of the four-game set Tuesday. He gave up four runs in 4 2/3 innings in his last start Wednesday against the Padres. Ray earned the win against Los Angeles on Sept. 11, which was his first win in over two months, since July 7.
Dodgers: Alex Wood faces the D-backs in Tuesday's 7:10 p.m. PT game and is coming off his best start in Los Angeles as he went eight innings, allowing just one hit. However, in his previous start, he was pushed around by Arizona for eight runs in 1 2/3 innings, the worst and shortest start of his career.
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