Hyun-Jin Ryu went seven scoreless innings in his return from neck stiffness and the Los Angeles Dodgers swatted four home runs to defeat the Arizona Diamondbacks, 9-3, and complete their homestand with a series win.
Ryu didn’t show any signs of rust from a brief stint on the 10-day injured list, as he retired 11 of the first 12 batters faced. The afternoon Tim Locastro reaching on a hit by a pitch to open the first inning, but the Diamondbacks didn’t have a hit until the fourth inning.
Nothing came of Christian Walker’s two-out single, or after Adam Jones’ base hit and Carson Kelly’s walk put two on in the fifth. Ryu faced another jam in the sixth inning as Ketel Marte and Eduardo Escobar connected on back-to-back singles.
He escaped the trouble behind a fly out followed by a double play. Ryu went at least seven innings for a 12th time in 22 starts this season.
The Dodgers provided him with plenty of run support early, scoring in each of the first three innings and four of the first five. Justin Turner and Cody Bellinger combined for back-to-back home runs in the first inning, marking the 11th time this season the Dodgers have accomplished as much.
That was the start of a big day for Turner, who hit a second homer in the fifth inning. It marked a ninth career multi-home run game and second this season. Joc Pederson’s RBI single, and Will Smith’s homer and sacrifice fly also contributed to the Dodgers taking a commanding lead.
Although the Dodgers largely went quiet after the fifth inning, they cruised to a victory and now embark on a six-game road trip after going 8-2 in their latest stretch at Dodger Stadium. L.A. was denied a shutout but still lead the Majors with 13 such victories this season.
The Diamondbacks’ runs came on Escobar’s homer hit off Yimi Garcia in the eighth inning, and Nick Ahmed hitting a two-run homer against JT Chargois in the ninth.
