Dodgers can't cash in opportunities, drop opener to Zack Greinke, Diamondbacks

A game that saw a bevy of hard-hit balls on both sides yet only five total runs saw the Dodgers find themselves at the wrong end of yet another one-run loss in a frustrating 3-2 loss to the Diamondbacks at Chase Field in Phoenix.

The Dodgers got to Zack Greinke early, with a single by Corey Seager and booming double by Justin Turner off the center field wall in the first inning for a quick run, but the Dodgers were unable to put a crooked number on the board stranding Turner in scoring position.

Down 2-1 in the fifth, Seager struck again, this time with a booming home run 440 feet away and over the pool in right center field, the longest home run of Seager's career, and his sixth home run of June.

Turner, who also had a hard-hit single in his second at-bat, nearly made it back-to-back home runs with a drive to left field, but rookie Peter O'Brien made a leaping catch at the wall to rob Turner of extra-bases.

It seemed like every outfielder on both teams got familiar with the warning track area all night against both starting pitchers, and sometimes to no avail. Two of the hard-hit balls against Mike Bolsinger left the ballpark, with solo home runs by Paul Goldschmidt in the first inning and Jake Lamb in the third.

Two more hard-hit balls produced bat flips by Greinke, the first a drive to deep center field tracked down by Joc Pederson but the second a much more critical play, a one-out single by Greinke in the fifth. A force out and a stolen base put a runner in scoring position, plated by a Jean Segura single for a 3-2 Diamondbacks lead.

That ended Bolsinger's night after just 4⅔, another short outing to add to his disappointing season. Bolsinger is now averaging exactly five innings per start in his five outings this year, and despite entering Monday with a 5.75 ERA he was unable to lower that in Arizona; now, his ERA sits at 5.76.

The Dodgers had designs on tying the game in the sixth inning when Pederson when doubled to right field, and was 90 feet away from scoring when Scott Van Slyke lofted a two-out bloop into short center field that Segura, who drove in the go-ahead run, raced  from second base to snag out of the air over his shoulder for the final out of the frame.

The Dodgers were 0-for-9 with runners in scoring position against Greinke, who lasted seven innings in his first start against the Dodgers in four years. He struck out six, and won his sixth straight start.

Three consecutive walks with one out against reliever Daniel Hudson in the eighth inning gave the Dodgers a chance to at least tie, but Brad Ziegler entered to strike out Kiké Hernandez then a low line drive to center field was caught by a diving Michael Bourn, inserted into the game in center field for defense one inning prior.

The Dodgers were 0-for-11 with runners in scoring position on Monday night, and are 2-for-28 (.071) in such situations on the road trip through four games, a key part of the recipe of their third consecutive one-run defeat. In fact, the Dodgers' last six games have all been decided by one run, with four losses during that span.

Ultimately on Monday, the Dodgers offense was just Seager and Turner, with the duo each collecting two hits, and reaching base a total of five times between them. But the rest of the team had just three hits in total.

Up next

Kenta Maeda takes the mound in the middle game on Tuesday night, another 6:40 p.m. PT start. The next run Arizona scores against the right-hander will be their first against him this season. Archie Bradley gets the call for the Diamondbacks, making his sixth major league start f the year.

Monday particulars

Home runs: Corey Seager (15); Paul Goldschmidt (12), Jake Lamb (12)

WP - Zack Greinke (9-3): 7 IP, 7 hits, 2 runs, 2 walks, 6 strikeouts

LP - Mike Bolsinger (1-4): 4⅔ IP, 5 hits, 3 runs, 5 strikeouts

Sv - Brad Ziegler (13): 1⅔ IP, 1 strikeout