Puig Nearly Hits For Cycle, Dodgers Sweep D-Backs On Kendrick Walk-Off
While Anderson battled somewhat of a high pitch count, he worked around a one-out walk in the fourth to throw a scoreless inning. Pederson drew another walk and Puig hit a shot up the middle that he turned into a hustle double. Oliver Perez came on in relief of Hellickson and got Gonzalez to ground into the shift, ending the inning.
After getting close in previous innings, the Diamondbacks finally managed to get to Anderson in the fifth. Goldschmidt and Tomas combined for back-to-back home runs that cut the Dodgers’ lead to 5-4. Goldschmidt’s was a two-run shot and the 100th home run of his career, which includes 17 all-time against the Dodgers.
Juan Nicasio took over in the sixth, allowed a one-out single and walked pinch-hitter David Peralta. Dodgers head athletic trainer Stan Conte and manager Don Mattingly then came out to check on Nicasio, who was removed from the game with an apparent issue on his right hand.
Adam Liberatore followed the right-hander, however only to retire Inciarte. Yimi Garcia was then called on, and he struck out Pollock to end the inning with the tying and go-ahead runs in scoring position. Alberto Callaspo led of the bottom of the sixth with a double and was promptly moved over to third by Rollins’ sac-bunt.
Kiké Hernandez, who entered with Garcia as part of a double switch, provided an insurance run with a sac-fly to the warning track in right field. Goldschmidt continued his torrid hitting against the Dodgers by lacing a leadoff double down the left field line in the seventh.
With Goldschmidt standing on third following a sac-fly, Garcia hit Hill with the pitch to put runners on the corners with one out. Chris Owings hit a sac-fly to center that scored Goldschmidt, who just beat the throw home.
Only a triple shy of the cycle and with the Dodgers leading 6-5, Puig led off the bottom of the seventh with a base hit to left. While it wasn’t the three-base hit he may have been searching for, it moved him to 4-for-4 on the night and 9-for-15 since coming off the disabled list.
Grandal extended the inning by drawing a two-out walk, but the Dodgers failed to add to their lead as pinch-hitter Alex Guerrero went down swinging for the third out. J.P. Howell needed just 10 pitches to retire the Diamondbacks in order in the eighth, getting help from Callaspo making a diving stop.
Kenley Jansen failed to protect the Dodgers’ one-run lead as he gave up a game-tying leadoff home run to Pollock in the ninth. A pair of foul outs and one strikeout later, Jansen was out of the inning. Daniel Hudson walked Puig and Gonzalez with one out to put the winning run in scoring position.
One night after collecting three RBIs, Kendrick delivered walk-off RBI single for his first hit of the night. With the 7-6 win, the Dodgers extended their winning streak over the Diamondbacks to seven games and completed the three-game sweep to finish 4-3 on the homestand. The walk-off hit was Kendrick’s second this season.
Howie Kendrick On Big Night At The Plate
Puig returned at the right time.