The Los Angeles Dodgers were shut out by the Arizona Diamondbacks in a 6-0 loss on Wednesday, wrapping up a series lost to their division opponent.
The reigning National League Champion Diamondbacks have scuffled on the season, sitting at 24-26, but taking two-of-three from the Dodgers is a nice boost to their confidence. Arizona supplied plenty of power in the road series, including home runs from first baseman Christian Walker on back-to-back nights.
Walker’s ninth and 10th homers of the year added to his career total of 22 long balls against the Dodgers in his eight seasons with the Diamondbacks.
Seeming to rise to the occasion when facing the Dodgers hasn’t been lost on manager Dave Roberts, whose been at the helm for all of it, per Mike DiGiovanna of the L.A. Times:
“He’s one of my favorite players to watch,” Roberts said of Walker. “He plays the game the right way. He uses the whole field. He doesn’t give away pitches. He’s a Gold Glover on defense. He runs the bases. He’s one of the guys I really respect as a ballplayer. You just don’t like it when he’s in the batter’s box, for sure.”
Walker hasn’t been at the top of big league leaderboards in overall production, but at times, he’s among Major League Baseball’s top home run hitting first baseman. Since 2019, he’s tallied 125 home runs.
In that span, he’s won two Gold Glove Awards in 2022 and 2023, being a big piece of their run to the World Series this past year.
Christian Walker career numbers against the Dodgers
Because he had to wait behind former Diamondbacks first baseman Paul Goldschmidt, Walker’s reign of terror over the Dodgers could’ve begun a few seasons prior.
His overall numbers against the Dodgers are terrific, but in Dodger Stadium, he’s an MVP caliber player. In 39 career games in the Dodgers’ home ballpark, Walker is batting. .312/.368/.672 with 14 home runs, 23 RBI and 20 runs scored.
Dodger Stadium is like Coors Field to Walker, who, thankfully, is in his final season under contract.
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