Dodgers use their own big inning to escape Phoenix with a win

The Dodgers were on the good side of a big inning on Sunday, striking for six runs in the fifth inning in a 6-2 win over the Diamondbacks to avoid a weekend sweep at Chase Field in Arizona.

The game, and the inning, showed signs of life, and not just by the Dodgers, losers of five of their last six games before Sunday.

Adrian Gonzalez has not hit for power at all this season, with his last extra-base hit a double on April 5. The Dodgers first baseman technically snapped that extra-base drought with a bloop behind third base in the first inning, snapping a 58-plate-appearance skid without one.

But it was Gonzalez’s second double of the game that provided hope, a drive to the wall in left field that scored a pair of runs to give the Dodgers their first lead.

That was in the fifth inning, when Shelby Miller went from scoreless outing to can’t find the strike zone in a matter of seconds. He walked pitcher Brandon McCarthy to start the inning, prompting a visit from pitching coach Mike Butcher. Then he walked Joc Pederson, too, and Corey Seager made them pay with a double to deep center field that tied the game.

Miller was lifted for Randall Delgado, who allowed a single to Justin Turner then the double by Gonzalez. But before Delgado could even settle in, Yasmani Grandal launched a ball into the right field seats for a two-run home run and, just like that, a six-run inning.

McCarthy was more than up to the task of making that hold up. He allowed a two-run home run to Paul Goldschmidt in the first inning, part of three consecutive hits in the inning, but that was pretty much it.

The rest of McCarthy’s day — outside of walking and scoring in the fifth — was filled with ground ball outs (seven of them) and strikeouts (six of those). He pitched seven innings, the only Dodgers starter not named Clayton Kershaw to do so this season, and has averaged six innings in his four starts in 2017.

Sunday’s seven-inning start was the longest for McCarthy since April 13, 2015, before his Tommy John surgery.

The rest

Pederson, 1-for-3 with a double and a walk from the leadoff spot on Sunday, left the game in the sixth inning as a precaution after feeling tightness in his groin, per Alanna Rizzo on the SportsNet LA broadcast.

Turner’s single in the fifth inning extended his hitting streak to nine games, the longest by a Dodger this season.

Miller walked five batters in the game, the most by any pitcher against the Dodgers this season. Dodgers batters lead the National League with 78 walks this season.

David Peralta was 2-for-4 on Sunday for Arizona, his fourth straight multi-hit game against the Dodgers. He is 12-for-26 (.462) against the Dodgers this season, even more remarkable considering he started 0-for-8 against them.

Up next

The Dodgers continue their road trip on Monday night in San Francisco, in a battle of underwhelming division rivals. Hyun-jin Ryu gets the start in the opener, a 7:15 p.m. PT game time, facing off against Matt Cain for the Giants.

Sunday particulars

Home runs: Yasmani Grandal (3); Paul Goldschmidt (3)

WP - Brandon McCarthy (3-0): 7 IP, 5 hits, 2 runs, 1 walk, 6 strikeouts

LP - Shelby Miller (2-2): 4+ IP, 4 hits, 3 runs, 5 walks, 3 strikeouts