The Los Angeles Dodgers thoroughly dominated the Arizona Diamondbacks throughout much of the four-game Opening Series but needed to claw back on Sunday for an 8-7 victory at Dodger Stadium.
The Dodgers were cruising to another win but Walker Buehler suddenly lost command and Pedro Baez compounded matters by surrendering a home run to Diamondbacks starting pitcher Luke Weaver.
Provided a 3-0 lead in the first inning, Buehler’s regular-season debut was humming along as he retired the first seven batters faced and stranded Carson Kelly after he singled. Buehler then came undone in what amounted to a seven-run fourth inning for the Diamondbacks.
Ildemaro Vargas’ leadoff double was cashed in as David Peralta followed with an RBI single to break up the shutout bid. After Adam Jones singled, Buehler walked Jake Lamb to load the bases.
Ketel Marte’s two-run single cut the Dodgers’ lead to 4-3 and marked the end of the day for Buehler. Baez immediately allowed a go-ahead two-run double to Nick Ahmed before Weaver’s wall scrapper.
The Dodgers answered back with a run in the bottom of the fourth and had a golden opportunity in the fifth inning as they loaded the bases. However, Yoan Lopez escaped the jam and preserved a 7-5 lead by getting pinch-hitter Corey Seager to foul out.
L.A. had the go-ahead run each the plate in the seventh but couldn’t capitalized. They put two on again in the eighth inning, that time breaking through on A.J. Pollock’s game-tying two-run double. Max Muncy’s sacrifice fly then gave the Dodgers a decided lead.
While Pollock and Muncy combined to lift the Dodgers to a late lead, the table was set by Cody Bellinger fouling off four pitches before reaching on an infield single. Bellinger also helped the Dodgers make history earlier in the game, as his fourth home run of the season set a new Los Angeles franchise record for runs scored in a four-game series with 38.
