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The Dodgers trailed three different times, but production from the top of the lineup prevailed in a comeback 6-4 win over the Diamondbacks on Saturday night at Dodger Stadium.
Justin Turner got a second straight start at third base, with manager Don Mattingly liking the matchup, and for a second straight night he homered. But Turner also doubled and scored three runs, and scored the go-ahead run in the seventh inning, driven in by Howie Kendrick, who had two hits of his own.
Joc Pederson tied the score with a home run in the seventh, a mammoth shot to center field after strikeouts in his first three at-bats. Pederson is the first Dodgers rookie with a home run in four straight games (with at least one at-bat) since Bill Sudakis is 1969, per Elias.
The seventh-inning rally made a winner of Juan Nicasio, who pitched three perfect innings of relief, with two strikeouts.
It was an ugly night for both starters early, as Scott Baker and Jeremy Hellickson were trying to outdo each other in the opening innings.
Baker allowed two doubles and a home run in the first inning, then a home run later to the slumping Aaron Hill, his first of the year.
"You get the feeling that neither starting pitcher will be around for four innings," Vin Scully said during the SportsNet LA broadcast.
Baker did manage to make it through four, allowing four runs and seven hits, while Hellickson was able to settle down and pitch into the sixth.
"From the beginning of the game, he just couldn't spot," catcher Yasmani Grandal told Alanna Rizzo after the game on SportsNet LA. "We had to figure out a way to get him through four or five innings."
Grandal added three hits of his own, a season high.
Yimi Garcia pitched a scoreless eighth through the heart of the Diamondbacks order, then Chris Hatcher pitched a scoreless ninth inning for the save, though a potential RBI single by David Peralta ended the game before a run could score because it struck Jordan Pacheco running from first to second base.
That was the second game in MLB on Saturday to end on a baserunner getting hit by a batted ball.
Up next
The Dodgers go for a sweep on Sunday, with Brett Anderson on the mound. Chase Anderson starts for Arizona.
Saturday particulars
Home runs: Justin Turner (3), Joc Pederson (6); Paul Goldschmidt (6), Aaron Hill (1)
WP - Juan Nicasio (1-1): 3 IP, 2 strikeouts
LP - Evan Marshall (0-1): ⅔ IP, 3 hits, 2 runs
Sv - Chris Hatcher (2): 1 IP, 2 hits