Dodgers 7, Diamondbacks 5: Hanley Ramirez, A.J. Ellis finish off sweep

Hanley Ramirez and A.J. Ellis hit back-to-back home runs off Josh Colmenter to give the Dodgers a 7-5 victory and a sweep of the Diamondbacks. The Dodgers, winners of 15 of their last 18 games, finished their road trip 7-2 and are now just 1½ games behind Arizona in the National League West.

The Dodgers are at .500 (45-45) for the first time since April 30 (13-13).

Arizona led 5-4 and had the Dodgers down to their last out in the ninth inning, but Heath Bell walked Adrian Gonzalez then allowed consecutive singles to Ramirez and Ellis to bring home the tying run. For Ellis, it marked the seventh game in his last nine with at least one RBI. He was 3-for-6 with a walk on the night and is hitting .385 (15-for-39) during his nine-game hitting streak.

Ramirez, who had his 19-game hitting streak snapped on Tuesday, went 3-for-6 with a home run and a double, with three RBI, a walk and two runs scored. Ramirez is hitting a team-best .409/.452/.739 on the season in 35 games.

The Dodgers certainly had their opportunities early against Tyler Skaggs. They left two runners on base in the second inning. After loading the bases with one out in the fourth inning they scored just one run, on a sacrifice fly by Scott Van Slyke.

A rally in the fifth inning gave the Dodgers new life. Mark Ellis, who was robbed of a home run in the first inning by a leaping Cody Ross in left field and robbed of a double in the third inning by a diving A.J. Pollock in center field, hit his softest ball of the night, a little 60-foot dribbler that went for a hit. Yasiel Puig followed with a hit, then Hanley Ramirez hit a booming double to center field to score them both. But with the bases loaded later in the inning and a chance to break the game open, Van Slyke hit into a double play to end the inning.

Hyun-jin Ryu had his worst start as a Dodger in an otherwise stellar first half of the season. He allowed five runs in five innings, including three runs in the fifth frame after getting handed a 3-2 lead.

Down 5-3 in the seventh inning, Adrian Gonzalez homered to right field off David Hernandez to cut the lead in half. It was the fourth home run on the road trip for Gonzalez, who hit .333/.372/.667 with 10 RBI in the nine games.

With Skip Schumaker serving the first game of his two-game suspension and only backup catcher Tim Federowicz remaining on the bench, Zack Greinke was used as a pinch hitter in the 10th inning. Greinke, who has hits in his previous four at-bats, including a double, worked an eight-pitch walk. Greinke, who on the season has a .469 on-base percentage, was stranded at first, though not before Mark Ellis had a 14-pitch at-bat of his own.

The Dodgers pitching staff went 22 straight batters, from the fifth to the 12th without allowing a base hit. The man who allowed the hit with Chris Withrow, but that came in his third inning of work. Withrow threw 59 pitches in three scoreless innings, the longest relief outing by a Dodger since 2011, when both John Ely and Lance Cormier pitched three innings in relief.

The last time the Dodgers got three scoreless innings from a single relief pitcher came on July 5, 2010, when both Jeff Weaver (3⅓ innings) and Ronald Belisario did the deed against the Marlins.

With those 59 pitches, it's likely Withrow is unavailable for the four remaining games before the break, so don't be surprised if Withrow is optioned for relief help on Friday. Javy Guerra pitched for Triple-A Albuquerque on Tuesday night, his only game pitched in the last four days.

Kenley Jansen pitched a scoreless 13th for the win, the closed out his own game with a scoreless 14th. Dodgers relievers combined for nine scoreless innings, with two hits, three walks and eight strikeouts.

Ramirez and Ellis ruined what was an otherwise stellar outing for Diamondbacks reliever Josh Collmenter, who pitched four scoreless frames before allowing the two home runs to lead off the 14th inning.

The 14 innings made Wednesday night the longest Dodgers game since June 2, 2010, when Garrett Anderson singled home the game's only run in the 14th to give Travis Schlichting his only major league win after four scoreless innings of relief.

Puig ended his night 1-for-7 and saw his batting line drop to .394/.428/.634, the only time in his 35 major league games that he has ended a day with a batting average below .400.

Up next

After three road series wins, the Dodgers return home to host the Rockies for four games before the All-Star break. Chris Capuano temporarily lost his spot in the rotation but that lasted all of one day, as he starts the opener on Thursday night against Drew Pomeranz in a battle of southpaws at Dodger Stadium.

Wednesday particulars

Home runs: Adrian Gonzalez (14), Hanley Ramirez (8), A.J. Ellis (4); Aaron Hill (4)

WP - Kenley Jansen (3-3): 2 IP, 1 hit, 1 walk, 3 strikeouts

LP - Josh Collmenter (4-2): 4+ IP, 3 hits, 2 runs, 2 walks