The Los Angeles Dodgers found themselves staring at a four-game sweep at the hands of the Arizona Diamondbacks on Sunday afternoon at Chase Field as they went into the ninth inning facing a deficit.
They were able to rally though, scoring a run in the ninth and another in the 11th to earn a 4-3 victory and finish their seven-game road trip on a positive note.
As was the case in the first three games of the series, it was the Dodgers who started the scoring. David Freese, who was just activated off the 10-day injured list before the game, launched a home run to center field, his 10th of the season.
Russell Martin followed suit with a home run off his own in the top of the third. His went toward the pool in right-center for a fifth on the year. That gave the Dodgers a new franchise record with 236 home runs hit this season.
Despite the two solo shots, the Dodgers went into the ninth inning trailing 3-2 and were two outs away from defeat when Cody Bellinger stepped to the plate. The National League MVP candidate wasn’t about to let the Dodgers suffer a loss as he launched a homer to right field.
The home run was Bellinger’s first since Aug. 18 and gave him 43 on the season to tie with Mike Trout and Pete Alonso for the MLB lead.
Bellinger’s home run sent the game to extra innings and set the stage for Joc Pederson’s game-winner in the 11th. Pederson came up to bat as a pinch-hitter and launched a majestic shot to right field, traveling 454 feet for his 28th of the year.
Overlooked because of the home runs was the performance of the Dodgers bullpen, which shut out the Diamondbacks for the final seven innings to secure the win. Kenley Jansen pitched in the bottom of the eighth, so it was up to Pedro Baez to close out the victory in the 11th, and he tossed a 1-2-3 inning to earn his first career save.
