In what may be a preview of the National League Division Series, the Arizona Diamondbacks and Los Angeles Dodgers played to a back-and-forth affair for a second time in as many nights. The Dodgers chased Zack Greinke and handed him his first loss at Chase Field this season.
Cody Bellinger’s solo home run in the second inning broke a scoreless tie and his leadoff double in the seventh was just the Dodgers’ second hit. Up to that point they’d managed just three baserunners via walk between Bellinger’s hits.
Greinke nearly worked out of the jam, only to allow a two-out RBI double to Joc Pederson. The extra-base hit not only tied the game but also snapped an 0-for-23 skid for Pederson.
There was further redemption for the young center fielder who was 0-for-2 on the night with two strikeouts and was infamously called an “easy out” by Greinke. Yasiel Puig’s RBI single gave the Dodgers a lead and knocked Greinke out of the game.
Alex Wood’s velocity returned to its usual level as he turned in a quality start. Wood worked around a J.D. Martinez one-out double in the second inning and protected a 1-0 lead until Paul Goldschmidt hit a booming home run to straightaway center field with one out in the fourth.
The Diamondbacks then pushed ahead in the sixth, as A.J. Pollock doubled and two batters later Martinez hit an RBI single. Ketel Marte followed with a double, but Wood retired Jake Lamb to keep the damage at a minimum.
He finished the night with two runs allowed on six hits, one walk and four strikeouts. It was a 13th start for Wood this season in which he permitted two earned runs or fewer.
Josh Fields backed his effort by throwing two scoreless innings. That included working around a leadoff single in the bottom of the eighth by inducing Goldschmidt into an inning-ending double play.
The Dodgers left the bases loaded in the ninth inning, and though he hit Marte with a pitch to put the tying run on with one out, Kenley Jansen protected the 3-2 lead to convert his 29th save of the season.
