*Photo from AP News*
The snakes take this round. Lourdes Gurriel Jr drove in a pair of runs, Christian Walker blasted two homers, and the Arizona Diamondbacks defeated the Los Angeles Dodgers with a 9-3 victory Thursday in Los Angeles.
Arizona took the series from the Dodgers, possessing a 5-4 lead on the season series with 4 games left to go. They moved within one game of .500 with the win, sitting in 3rd in the NL West. Gurriel Jr and Gabriel Moreno each drove in two runs, while Walker extended his tear against the Dodgers.
Walker homered twice, reaching 19 home runs at Dodger Stadium in his career. He's homered in 5 straight games at Dodger Stadium and 9 times against the Dodgers this year, raising his OPS at Dodger Stadium to 1.184. All 19 of his homers at Dodger Stadium have come from 2018 on, and he's also the first player to hit 7 home runs in a 5 game span at Dodger Stadium.
Arizona starting pitcher Zac Gallen said of Walker that "He's unconscious, really. When they walked him, I was like, ‘Finally.’ He’s playing at an All-Star-caliber level. I hope that Major League Baseball sees that and they find a way to get him on the team."
Joc Pederson started the scoring in the first inning, giving the D-Backs a 1-0 lead with a solo home run before Walker hit one of his own to double the lead to 2-0. In the 3rd, Walker hit a two run homer to left field to double the lead again to 4-0. In the 4th, Andy Pages scored on a groundout and Austin Barnes added an RBI single, getting the Dodgers on the board and making it a 4-2 game.
Ketel Marte extended the D-Backs lead to 5-2 in the 5th inning, hitting an RBI single that scored Corbin Carroll. In the 9th, Gurriel Jr singled to left field, scoring Marte and Randal Grichuk to make it a 7-2 D-Backs lead. Later in the inning, Gurriel Jr and Walker scored on an RBI double from Gabriel Moreno, making it a 9-2 game.
Walker said after the game "What I feel at the plate at Dodger Stadium is maybe a little bit of a toned-down effort level. Playing at home, playing in bigger parks, I feel like you’ve got to hit a ball really, really hard to get it out. Now, it comes with more doubles and more extra-base hits in the gaps, for sure, with the big outfield. But maybe a little bit of toned-down effort level helps making better decisions and helps the moves stay efficient."
Gallen was the starter for the D-Backs, giving up 3 runs on 4 hits and 3 walks in 4 innings. Justin Martinez struck out 5 hitters in 3 innings of relief to get the win. Ryan Thompson pitched a scoreless 8th inning and Thyago Vieira worked the 9th to close the game.
Landon Knack lasted 4 1/3 innings in his start for the Dodgers, giving up 4 runs on 4 hits and a walk. Anthony Banda allowed a run in 1 2/3 innings before Alex Vesia pitched a scoreless inning. Nick Ramirez allowed 4 runs in two innings pitched.
Dodgers manager Dave Roberts said of Walker's domination that "When we’re living it, it digs a little deeper. We just don’t make good pitches against him, that’s just the bottom line. You hang a changeup or a fastball middle-middle, he’s going to do that and obviously he feels really comfortable in the box against us."
Arizona starts another division series on Friday, taking on the San Diego Padres for the weekend with Slade Cecconi lined up to start the opening game. Tyler Glasnow will start for the Dodgers as they host the Milwaukee Brewers Friday night.
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