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The good news for the Dodgers is that they scored a run in the first inning. Two of them in fact, their first runs in the opening frame since August 26, after a span of 14 games without. The bad news is that was pretty much it, as the Dodgers failed to scored again, allowing the Diamondbacks to capture a 3-2 win.
The Dodgers ended their season with a 6-12 record against Arizona. In the 15 year history of the Diamondbacks, the only season the Dodgers did worse against them was 2005, when they went 5-13.
A lot of the news before the game, aside from Matt Kemp moving back to third in the batting order with Adrian Gonzalez cleanup, was that the Dodgers canceled batting practice, trying to shake things up, and took "phantom" infield practice, without a ball. Here is video as taken by Julie Tompkins:
Things looked good in the first inning, when Gonzalez doubled home two runs to get the Dodgers off to a good start. But after two hits in the first, the Dodgers managed just two hits in the final eight innings.
Arizona cut the lead to 2-1 in the second, but Aaron Harang made it hold up into the sixth inning. After getting two outs he walked two, and both were cashed in, with RBI singles by Justin Upton and Miguel Montero.
Down a run in the ninth, the Dodgers had the heart of their order up. But Kemp grounded out, Gonzalez struck out, and Hanley Ramirez grounded out to end the game, which kept the Dodgers one game behind the Cardinals for the second wild card.
Up Next
The Dodgers return home for a four-game series against their chief rivals for the second wild card spot, as the Cardinals come to town. Josh Beckett gets the call in the opener for the Dodgers, facing Lance Lynn for St. Louis.
Wednesday's Particulars
Home Runs: none
WP - Trevor Cahill (11-11): 7 IP, 4 hits, 2 strikeouts, 7 strikeouts
LP - Aaron Harang (9-9): 5 2/3 IP, 4 hits, 3 runs, 4 walks, 3 strikeouts
Sv - David Hernandez (4): 1 IP, 1 strikeout