Hot-hand is the winning hand as Dodgers hold on to beat D-backs

The Dodgers secured a winning trip against divisional opponents and fledgling playoff contenders, as they held on to beat the Diamondbacks 5-4 on Tuesday night at Chase Field.

Julio Urías delivered six strong innings, while once again Freddie Freeman and Mookie Betts helped carry the offense, reaching base three times each, combining for three RBI and two runs scored.

Much was made about the Dodgers' lack of a high-profile addition to the pitching staff at the deadline. However, nothing they could’ve realistically done would be as impactful as getting Urías on track for these last couple of months.

The season hasn’t gone exactly as Urías planned, between struggles on the mound, and to stay healthy as well, consistency has eluded him. However, after six scoreless in the evening, this ended up being his fifth quality outing out of his last six, with the exception being the clunker at Baltimore.

Facing a playoff contender on the road, the Dodgers’ starter continued his dominance in Chase Field, one of the tougher places to pitch in the NL.

At no point pitching with more than a single runner on in his entire outing, Urías held Arizona scoreless through six full innings, nearing 100 pitches. He left the game on the line for another victory, as LA put up one in the second, and three in the fifth.

The D-Backs had only three at-bats against Urías with a runner in scoring position, as the four hits Urías allowed were all singles, and the lefty didn’t walk anybody. Arizona went 0 for 3 in those opportunities.

Freeman is Him. What else is new?

The Dodgers first baseman and MVP candidate recorded a hit in three of his first four plate appearances. Freeman played a pivotal role in the three-run fifth inning, driving in Mookie Betts with a double, and coming around to score after a Will Smith single.

With that two-bagger, Freeman increased his lead in baseball, securing his 41st of 2023, while the man in second place, Blue Jays third baseman, Matt Chapman has 35.

Although it was that multi-run inning in the fifth which helped the Dodgers get a much more comfortable lead, they got out in front early in this game.

Kiké Hernández began the scoring with an RBI double back in the second inning, driving in the veteran David Peralta, once again returning to his old stomping grounds in the Phoenix desert.

The value of insurance runs

The Dodgers led comfortably for much of the evening, relaying the feeling this would be a safe win. However, despite that, the offense played nine full, with Mookie Betts driving in the team’s fifth run in the ninth when it led 4-2.

That run was extremely helpful as Evan Phillips struggled in the ninth. Three of the first four hitters reached safely, and all of a sudden, the Rookie of the Year favorite, Corbin Carroll, was up as the go-ahead run.

Luckily for the Dodgers, Carroll didn’t realize that a chopper down the first-base line was a fair ball, and didn’t run out of the box. As a result, Freeman was able to turn a 3-6-3 double play to end the game, which they never would have done so, under normal circumstances with Carroll’s wheels.

Tuesday particulars

Home runs: none

WP — Julio Urías (9-6): 6 IP, 4 hits, 1 walk, 5 strikeouts

LP — Brandon Pfaadt (0-6): 4⅔ IP, 6 hits, 4 runs, 2 walks, 5 strikeouts

SV - Evan Phillips (15): 1 IP, 2 hits, 2 runs, 1 walk

Up next

The Dodgers wrap up this short two-game set on Wednesday night (6:40 p.m. PT, SportsNet LA). It will be rookie Bobby Miller against veteran Merrill Kelly in the road trip finale.