After opening the 2016 season with a three-game sweep of the San Diego Padres, the Los Angeles Dodgers entered Wednesday’s contest losers in four of their last five games. Coming off a loss to the Arizona Diamondbacks, the Dodgers looked to get back in the win column with Alex Wood on the mound.
Jean Segura opened the first inning with a single to left field, though he was then erased from the bases on a Chris Owings force out. Wood appeared to get out of the inning on a Paul Goldschmidt double play, however the Diamondbacks successfully overturned the out call at first base.
Nothing came of it as Welington Castillo grounded out to end the inning. Rubby De La Rosa tossed a 1-2-3 bottom of the first inning, getting Chase Utley, Corey Seager and Justin Turner to ground out.
Wood issued a pair of one-out walks in the second inning, but got of it unscathed by getting De La Rosa to ground into a double play. Howie Kendrick grounded into a force out with Yasmani Grandal standing on first base after drawing a two-out walk.
Nick Ahmed broke the scoreless tie in the third by leading off the inning with a solo home run. Segura followed with a base hit, though he was later picked off by Wood. Castillo was unable to extend the inning after Goldschmidt did just that by drawing a two-out walk.
The Dodgers didn’t manage any offense in the bottom of the third outside of an Utley two-out single.
CONTINUE READING: Adrian Gonzalez hits first home run, Kenley Jansen used for five-out save
The Dodgers benefitted from one challenge and withstood another in the fourth, with the inning coming to an end on Brandon Drury being thrown out at third on a stolen base attempt. Adrian Gonzalez hit his first home run of the season, tying the game in the process and extending his hitting streak to six games.
Wood tossed a 1-2-3 inning in the fifth, his first time doing so on the night. Kendrick and Joc Pederson combined for back-to-back base hits with no outs in the bottom of the fifth. Some of the Dodgers’ momentum stalled as Wood struck out on a sacrifice bunt attempt.
A pair of consecutive Diamondbacks fielding errors led to two runs and the Dodgers taking a 3-1 lead before the fifth came to an end. Wood set the Diamondbacks down in order in the sixth, closing the inning with a strikeout of Castillo.
The Dodgers’ southpaw again kept the D-Backs off the bases in the seventh, extending Wood’s streak of consecutive batters retired to 11. With one out and Utley standing on second base after leading off the bottom of the seventh with a double, Turner was hit by a pitch for the second time in the game.
Jake Barrett bounced back to retire Gonzalez and Yasiel Puig, sending the game to the eighth with the Dodgers’ lead still stuck at 3-1. Despite having already thrown 101 pitches, Wood remained in the game. However, it was short-lived as he was removed following a Phil Gosselin infield single.
Pedro Baez retired the first batter he faced, but then issued a walk and gave way to Kenley Jansen. The Dodgers’ closer retired David Peralta and Goldschmidt in the eighth, then set the Diamondbacks down in order in the ninth to complete a five-out save in the Dodgers’ 3-1 win.