Dodgers and Dbacks Battle in Desert to Keep Playoff Hopes Alive

In a high-profile matchup, it is father vs son II.  This time in the desert as the Dodgers travel to Arizona to take on the Dbacks.  In their first matchup, it was the Joshua Santora led Dodgers sweeping Arizona to start the season.  LA has played well, but they hit the skids a bit.  They are still in the playoff chase and were the pre-season favorite, but they are questioning if they will have enough to finish the job and make the playoffs.  They have not been the same since the 27-inning marathon against the Pirates.  In the meantime, the Dbacks are coming in attempting to pick up some ground after going 3-5 in series with the Cubs and Brewers.  This was going to be a very interesting series, and which team would come out with some control of their destiny.

Game 1

Dodgers 5

Dbacks 3

Michael King returns for a start after a long stint in the minors.  He would face Yoshinobu Yamamoto in this one and the Dodgers bats would jump out hard in the first inning. James Wood and Willi Castro would each smash two-run bombs to take a 4-0 lead.  Dbacks would come back in the bottom of the first scoring two, lead by a Jacob Marsee 1-run triple and a Brendan Donovan sac fly. Dodgers would make it 5-2 in the second when James Wood would slap a 1-run single.  Dbacks would tack on another run in the bottom of the second on a Kyle Higashoka 1-run single to make it 5-3 LA.  That would be the end of the scoring. Yamamoto would get the win going six innings striking out seven.  King would go seven innings and strike our eleven.  Dodgers take game one 5-3.

WP – Yamamoto

LP – King

SV – Miller

HR – Wood, Castro

Game 2

Dbacks 2

Dodgers 1

Andrew Abbott was solid in this game, going six innings, striking out seven and leaving with a 2-0 lead. Wheeler would go five and have a miscue in the third inning and Jacob Marsee and Brendan Donovan would each hit 1-run singles.  Hunter Goodman would make things interesting in the eighth with a solo home run to make it 2-1 Dbacks. David Bednar would come in the ninth to shut things down to record the save and the victory for Arizona.

WP – Abbott

LP – Wheeler

SV – Bednar

HR – Goodman

Game 3

Dbacks 7

Dodgers 5

Shohei Ohtani would start things up in the top of the first with a solo home run.  Willi Castro would hit a solo shot in the third to make it 2-0 LA.  Dbacks would get some offense in the fourth as Francisco Lindor would hit a solo shot to make it 2-1. Arizona would then score five runs combined in the fifth and sixth innings. Jacob Young, Luis Arraez and Lindor would hit 1-run singles in the fifth, then Otto Lopez would hit a 2-run bomb in the sixth, 7-2 Dbacks. Jackson Merrill and Andy Pages would drive home runs in the seventh to make it 7-4 and a Merrill sac fly in the ninth after a Brice Turang triple would make it 7-5.  It would not be enough as David Bednar would collect another save for Arizona.

WP – Pepiot

LP – Priester

SV – Bednar

HR – Ohtani, Castillo, Lopez

Game 4

Dodgers 10

Dbacks 7

(14 Innings)

This game was wild. Let’s get to the third inning as the Dodger bats would basically chase Jesus Luzardo out for the night.  They would score seven runs on nine hits, led by Hunter Goodman and Jackson Merrill 2-run singles and Spencer Steer, Amed Rosario and Andy Pages 1-run singles.  Dbacks get motivated in the bottom of the fourth and slap around Jose Quintana. Gavin Sheets would hit a 2-run double while Alec Bohm and Andrew Vaughn would each record an RBI to make it 7-4 LA. Dodgers are in control, but Josh feels like he is going to blow the game.  Dbacks pen has held LA in check.  Then we come to the eighth inning as Ivan Herrera would hit a 1-run single and Otto Lopez would hit a 2-run double to make it a 7-7 game. This one would go to extras.  At this point, I have never heard Josh cuss so much.  Each inning was insufferable as the bullpens would continue to get outs. Aroldis Chapman is dealing extra work for LA, while Camilo Doval was doing the same for Arizona. Then we get to the top of the fourteenth. Two men on and two outs and former Dbacks Eziquiel Toval becomes the LA hero. He punches out a 3-run home run to make it 10-7 Dodgers.  Chapman would get the outs he needed for the victory and walk out with a split.

WP – Chapman

LP – Doval

HR – Tovar

This was a series that featured plenty of low X-Chart roles that definitely made a difference in this game.  Dbacks are now 37-35 while the Dodgers are 36-28.  Both teams are sitting in playoff spots, but the chase is one, with both teams with teams fighting for a spot on the schedule.