In keeping with the theme from the first two games of the series, scoring first ultimately proved to spell doom. The Los Angeles Dodgers had done so Friday and Saturday, but it was the Arizona Diamondbacks who struck first in the three-game finale.
Shelby Miller walked Corey Seager with one out in the first inning and later allowed a bloop double to Adrian Gonzalez. Miller escaped the threat by striking out Yasmani Grandal. Brandon McCarthy allowed a single to David Peralta, which was followed by a Paul Goldschmidt two-run home run.
Jake Lamb singled and eventually reached second base, where he was stranded. An Andrew Toles leadoff walk in the second inning was erased when Yasiel Puig hit a rocket to shortstop for the start of a double play.
The Dodgers put runners on the third, on a Joc Pederson double and Seager walk. However, Justin Turner flied out and Adrian Gonzalez struck out on a high fastball out of the zone. As the Dodgers scuttled at the plate, McCarthy seemed to settle in.
He struck out a pair in the second inning and retired seven in a row prior to walking Goldschmidt with two outs in the third. McCarthy ended the inning by striking out Lamb, and the Dodgers’ deficit remained 2-0.
Miller walked McCarthy to open the fifth, and it marked the start of a big inning for the Dodgers. Pederson also walked, Seager hit a game-tying two-run double, and Miller was removed with an apparent injury.
Randall Delgado took over for the Diamondbacks and promptly allowed a single to Turner, which extended his hitting streak to nine games. Gonzalez hit an opposite-field two-run double and Grandal homered to complete a six-run inning.
Chris Herrmann’s one-out base hit in the bottom of the fifth was negated when Jeremy Hazelbaker lined into an inning-ending double play. Pederson was removed in the bottom of the sixth due to right groin tightness.
Meanwhile, McCarthy completed seven innings for the first time since April 13, 2015, or pre-Tommy John surgery. He finished the afternoon with six strikeouts and the only runs allowed coming on Goldschmidt’s homer in the first inning.
Pedro Baez worked a scoreless eighth inning, working around a two-out single, which was his first hit allowed in six innings this season. Lamb doubled to start the bottom of the ninth on a fly ball to right-center field that Puig had control of until sliding into Kiké Hernandez’s legs.
Both players appeared a bit shaken up but remained in the game. Sergio Romo then proceeded to retire the next three batters faced to finish out the Dodgers’ 6-2 victory. The win snapped a two-game losing streak and helped Los Angeles avoid being swept for the first time this season.
