Zack Greinke allowed a run in each of the first two innings but blanked the Los Angeles Dodgers the rest of the way in a 7-2 win for the Arizona Diamondbacks. The series loss dropped the Dodgers to a half-game behind the Colorado Rockies in the National League West standings.
Once in full control of their own destiny, the Dodgers will now need some help from the Philadelphia Phillies or Washington Nationals if they’re to clinch a sixth consecutive NL West title.
The series finale at Chase Field began on positive note for the Dodgers, as Cody Bellinger’s two-out RBI single gave them an early lead. Ross Stripling helped himself with an RBI base hit to center field in the second inning.
But it was downhill for Stripling and the team from there. The right-hander managed to record five outs, which did snap a streak of three consecutive starts that saw Stripling pitch 3.1 innings.
Perhaps related to Stripling spending some time on the bases, the Diamondbacks struck in the blink of an eye. Socrates Brito led off the bottom of the second with his first home run since 2016, cutting the Dodgers’ lead in half.
A.J. Pollock followed with a triple off the left-field wall, and Nick Ahmed’s RBI double promptly tied the game. Greinke answered back to the single he allowed to Stripling by giving the Diamondbacks a 3-2 lead with one of his own.
Pollock’s three-run home run off Scott Alexander in the fifth inning seemingly put the game out of reach. If it didn’t, David Peralta added a solo home run in the bottom of the seventh for good measure.
Prior to that, the Dodgers did have Greinke on the ropes. Eight of the first 12 batters reached, which included singles by Justin Turner and Max Muncy putting two on with nobody out in the third. Bellinger was intentionally walked to load the bases with one out, but they were stranded by Yasiel Puig and Yasmani Grandal.
Greinke wound up issuing one walk and allowing one hit after that point, getting through six innings with just the two early runs on his ledger. The Diamondbacks bullpen allowed just one hit over three scoreless innings.
