The Los Angeles Dodgers were well on their way to a series victory at Chase Field but were forced to hold off a comeback bid by the Arizona Diamondbacks in an 8-6 victory.
Yu Darvish was not particularly sharp, as he regularly fell behind in the count to batters. Darvish allowed two runs — his first since joining the Dodgers — and despite a lack of command, still managed to record 10 strikeouts.
He was once again spotted an early lead, this time with Kiké Hernandez hitting a bases-clearing double to give the Dodgers a 3-0 edge in the first inning. The extra-base hit was his 20th (nine doubles, two triples and nine home runs) in 126 plate appearances against a left-hander this season.
After the Diamondbacks trimmed their deficit to 3-2, the Dodgers responded with another three-run inning. Chris Taylor led off the sixth with a solo home run, Corey Seager scored on Chris Iannetta’s throwing error, and Austin Barnes added an RBI infield single with two outs.
Justin Turner contributed with a two-run double off the wall in center field. The extra-base hit ultimately proved to be the difference rather than simply putting more distance between Los Angeles and Arizona.
With their win the Dodgers avoided losing a series since dropping two of three games to the Washington Nationals at Dodger Stadium from June 5-7.
