*Photo from AZ Family*
Arizona leads series 1-0
They got their chance and boy did they take advantage. Corbin Carroll drove in a pair of runs, Gabriel Moreno homered, and the Arizona Diamondbacks trounced the Los Angeles Dodgers with a 11-2 rout on Saturday in Los Angeles.
Early in the game, the D-Backs jumped on the Dodgers, scoring 9 of their 11 runs in the first two innings, 6 of which came in the first inning. It was a game long in the making for Arizona, long used as a punching bag at Dodger stadium by the Dodgers, a division rival in the NL West.
D-Backs outfielder Alek Thomas said "Definitely coming in here in the past, you know they've been tough for us as a whole and we’ve been baby brother a lot, and you know it felt good to do that in the playoffs and give it right back to them. So hopefully we can build off today and take that into the next game."
Carroll gave the D-Backs a 1-0 lead in the first inning with an RBI single. Christian Walker made it 2-0 with an RBI double before Moreno hit a 3 run home run to make it 5-0. Evan Longoria made it 6-0 after one with an RBI double. In the second inning, Carroll hit a solo home run, Lourdes Gurriel Jr added an RBI double, and Longoria had a run scoring sac fly, making it 9-0 Arizona.
It stayed that way until the 7th inning. Thomas then got the D-Backs back on the board with a solo home run, making it a 10-0 score. In the top of the 8th, Tommy Pham hit a solo home run hugging the right field foul pole, making it 11-0 D-Backs. Will Smith hit a two run triple in the bottom of the 8th to get the Dodgers on the board and make it a 11-2 score.
Walker said of the rout that "It's more for our perspective, you know, to prove to ourselves what we're capable of on a big stage against a really good team. I believe that in a couple of days, it's its own day and we’ve got to execute again. We’ve got to do it all over again. This is just the beginning, but I'd like to roll with this as much as we can, for sure."
Merrill Kelly delivered in his first career playoff start, pitching 6 1/3 shutout innings with 5 strikeouts. Joe Mantiply got the last two outs of the 7th inning before Miguel Castro allowed two runs in the 8th. Luis Frias pitched a scoreless 9th inning to close out the convincing win.
Clayton Kershaw had a rough start for the Dodgers, and that might be an understatement. He allowed 6 runs on 6 hits and one walk, recording just one out in the game before being taken out. He became the first pitcher to allow 5 or more runs before recording an out in playoff history. He threw 35 pitches in the game and mustered just 5 swing and misses.
Emmet Sheehan pitched the next 3 2/3 innings in relief, allowing 3 runs on 4 hits and two walks. Shelby Miller followed that with two scoreless innings. Michael Grove and Alex Vesia each allowed a run in one inning pitched before Caleb Ferguson pitched a scoreless 9th inning.
Kershaw said of his start after the game that it was "Just disappointing. Embarrassing. You just feel like you let everybody down, guys in the whole organization that look to you to pitch well in Game 1. It's just embarrassing, really. I just feel like I let everybody down."
Game two of the series is on Monday night after a day off on Sunday. Zac Gallen takes the mound for the D-Backs as they try to take a 2-0 series lead, while Bobby Miller goes for the Dodgers as they try to tie the series before hitting the road.
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