Patrick Corbin set a career high with 12 strikeouts, helping lead the Arizona Diamondbacks to a three-game sweep of the Los Angeles Dodgers with a 3-0 victory at Chase Field. Dating back to last season, Arizona has won nine consecutive regular-season games against Los Angeles, built on a trio of three series sweeps.
Overall for the Dodgers, they’ve lost three in a row after winning consecutive games against the San Francisco Giants to earn a split of the Opening Series. At 2-5, it’s the Dodgers’ worst start to a season since 1988.
They were stymied from the get-go on Wednesday, as Corbin relied on his slider to spin 7.1 shutout innings while allowing just one hit. He took a perfect game into the fifth inning, which ended on Matt Kemp’s two-out flare double down the right-field line.
Corbin joined Johnny Cueto, who lost his in the seventh, in working on a perfect game against the Dodgers this season. Coincidentally, they both did so with Alex Wood starting opposite of them.
Although Wood failed to replicate the dominant outing he had against the San Francisco Giants, he didn’t exactly pitch poorly in the desert. Wood was simply stung by allowing a leadoff double in each of the first three innings, which the Diamondbacks used to manufacture runs and a 3-0 lead.
One of the extra-base hits came courtesy of Corbin, who later singled to finish the day 2-for-2 and out-hit the Dodgers by himself. The only Dodger batter to reach was Kemp, with his bloop double and walk in the eighth inning.
Wood retired the side in order in the fourth inning, worked around a one-out single in the fifth, and benefitted from the Diamondbacks running themselves out of the sixth after A.J. Pollock doubled and stole third base with one out.
Archie Bradley retired Logan Forsythe and pinch-hitter Cody Bellinger to strand Kemp in the eighth inning. After Brad Boxberger issued two walks, the Dodgers brought the tying run to the plate with two outs in the ninth inning.
But Kiké Hernandez struck out looking, giving Boxberger his second save of the season.
One positive for the Dodgers to take away was Ross Stripling allowing just one hit and facing the minimum over two scoreless innings out of the bullpen.
