Dodgers run out of relief in finale with Diamondbacks

LOS ANGELES — The Diamondbacks rallied for single runs in the eighth and ninth inning, earning a 4-2 win over the Dodgers on Monday night and a split of the four-game series at Dodger Stadium.

Jake Lamb’s home run against Chris Hatcher broke a 2-2 tie, and snapped a string of 47⅓ innings and 181 batters faced to start the season without a home run allowed by the Dodgers bullpen.

With a depleted relief crew — Alex Wood pitched Saturday and is now in the rotation, Ross Stripling threw 49 pitches in 2⅓ innings Sunday, and Sergio Romo pitched the previous two days, including parts of two innings on Sunday — the Dodgers turned to Hatcher in his highest leverage situation of the season, in a tie game to start the seventh inning.

Hatcher surrendered a pair of singles with two outs in the seventh but got Paul Goldschmidt to pop out to end the threat. Lamb’s home run led off the eighth, an inning Hatcher finished with two strikeouts.

Hatcher pitched in the ninth inning as well, finishing his night with 47 pitches in 2⅔ frames, with five strikeouts. He left with a man on first and one out, but Luis Avilan — pitching on his third consecutive day — allowed a triple to David Peralta to widen Arizona’s advantage.

In Hatcher’s previous four outings, he entered the game with the Dodgers ahead 10 runs, ahead eight, down two runs, and down four. He has pitched well, including Monday’s appearance, allowing three total runs in 9⅔ innings, with 13 strikeouts and one walk.

He just didn’t have any margin for error on Monday night.

Heating up

Kike Hernandez homered in the fourth inning against Diamondbacks starter Robbie Ray, giving the Dodgers a 2-0 lead. It was the third straight game for Hernandez with an extra-base hit, and his fourth straight start reaching base by hit or walk.

Outside of that and an unearned run in the second inning, the Dodgers didn’t do much against Ray, who finished with 10 strikeouts in six innings while allowing three hits and four walks. He struck out six batters in a row after the home run.

For starters

Brandon McCarthy has been the Dodgers second-best starting pitcher this season, and was effective again on Monday night even though at five innings it was his shortest outing of the year.

The Diamondbacks bunched together hits against him twice. In the first inning, A.J. Pollock and Peralta each singled to start the game, but both were thrown out trying to steal second base by Yasmani Grandal, with Peralta providing some help by over sliding the bag.

Grandal has thrown out five of 10 runners trying to steal this season.

McCarthy didn’t allow much else until the fifth inning when, with a 2-0 lead, he walked Chris Owings with one out. One out later, Ray began a string of three straight singles that tied the game. That rally helped end McCarthy’s night after five innings, though he did strike out eight on the night, his season high.

Notes

Justin Turner doubled to lead off the eighth inning, but was stranded as the potential tying run. It was his eighth double of the season, which leads the National League.

Corey Seager was 0-for-4 with four strikeouts, taking the golden sombrero for the first time in his career. He struck out four times once last year, on July 6 against the Orioles, but was also 1-for-5 with two walks in a game that lasted 14 innings.

Monday particulars

Home runs: Kiké Hernandez (1); Jake Lamb (3)

WP - J.J. Hoover (1-0): 2 IP, 2 hits, 3 strikeouts

LP - Chris Hatcher (0-1): 2⅔ IP, 4 hits, 2 runs, 5 strikeouts

Sv - Fernando Rodney (5): 1 IP, 2 strikeouts