The Arizona Diamondbacks and Los Angeles Dodgers traded home runs at Chase Field, and Jake Lamb’s grand slam in the bottom of the seventh inning proved the difference for the Diamondbacks in their 6-3 comeback victory.
Lamb was presented with an opportunity to put the Diamondbacks ahead when Tony Watson intentionally walked A.J. Pollock to load the bases with two outs. Lamb got just enough of a slider to hook it down the right-field line, out of Yasiel Puig’s reach and off the base of the foul pole.
The home run was Lamb’s second of the night, matching Justin Turner in that department. In addition to allowing Watson to face Lamb, the decision to remove Brandon Morrow with one out and a runner at second base was a curious one.
Puig had already made a spectacular catch on the night, robbing J.D. Martinez of a solo home run in the bottom of the sixth inning. That came two batters after Pedro Baez surrendered a leadoff homer to Lamb, which at the time cut the Dodgers’ lead to 3-2.
Baez got out of the inning with just the one run allowed, but it came on another hard-hit ball in a drive to deep left field.
Turner’s shot to the upper deck in center field broke a scoreless tie in the fourth inning and was followed by a Cody Bellinger double. Logan Forsythe’s two-out RBI single extended the Dodgers’ lead to 2-0.
Turner’s second solo home run provided what only amounted to temporary insurance in the sixth inning. The multi-home run game was Turner’s sixth of his career and second this season. What’s more, he finished the night 6-for-13 with four home runs in the last three games.
Kenta Maeda went five innings and overcame early struggles to hold the Diamondbacks without a run until Chris Iannetta’s leadoff home run in the fifth. Prior to that point Maeda had retired 11 of the last 12 batters faced.
Ketel Marte followed with a walk and mayhem ensued. With Diamondbacks starter Zack Godley at the plate, Bellinger began to crash toward the plate, and Maeda threw over to an unmanned first base.
The throwing error put Marte at third base with nobody out. He was left there, however, as Maeda recorded three straight outs.
Yasmani Grandal led off the ninth inning with a walk, but Fernando Rodney induced a force out, then struck out Joc Pederson and Puig to earn the save. The loss snapped the Dodgers’ four-game winning streak.
