Tommy Edman delivered a tiebreaking two-run single in the top of the ninth inning to lift the Los Angeles Dodgers to an 8-6 victory over the Arizona Diamondbacks on Saturday night in Phoenix.
The Dodgers also started fast as Shohei Ohtani, Mookie Betts and Freddie Freeman became the first trio in franchise history to open a game with three consecutive homers.
Freeman had three hits and two RBIs as the Dodgers had a 16-5 edge in hits while defeating Arizona for the second straight night. Los Angeles has won four straight games and 10 of 12 and leads the National League West by six games over the Diamondbacks and San Diego Padres.
Corbin Carroll hit an inside-the-park homer and Lourdes Gurriel Jr. hit a conventional blast for Arizona, which lost for the fourth time in five games. The Diamondbacks are in a virtual tie with the Padres for the NL’s top wild-card spot.
Will Smith led off the decisive ninth with a single off Ryan Thompson (7-4). Chris Taylor pinch-ran for Smith and Gavin Lux followed with a sharp single. Enrique Hernandez sacrificed the runners to second and third.
Justin Martinez entered and Miguel Rojas hit a liner, but Arizona second baseman Luis Guillorme made a diving stab for the second out. Edman then blooped a hit into right field to score Taylor and Lux.
Ben Casparius (1-0) pitched a flawless eighth for the Dodgers in his big league debut. Evan Phillips then worked a perfect ninth for his 18th save.
Ohtani, Betts, Freeman all homered in a span of four pitches at the outset of the game.
Ohtani led off with his 44th homer, slamming the eighth pitch from Merrill Kelly over the fence in center.
Two pitches later, Betts hit his 14th, sending a slider over the wall in left. Freeman then stepped in and launched a 420-foot homer over the swimming pool in right center. It was his 19th of the season.
The Diamondbacks struck for four runs in the bottom of the first, the initial one coming on Carroll’s leadoff inside-the-park homer after Kevin Kiermaier of the Dodgers leaped at the wall in center and was unable to catch his drive. Carroll sped around the bases for his 19th homer and fifth over the last five games.
Later in the inning, Lourdes Gurriel Jr. stroked a two-run double and came around to score on Eugenio Suarez’s sacrifice fly.
Ohtani hit a sacrifice fly and Freeman had an RBI single in the second as Los Angeles took a 5-4 edge.
The Diamondbacks tied it in the third on Gurriel’s homer to left. It was his 17th of the season.
The Dodgers moved ahead again in the fifth on Max Muncy’s single.
Carroll hit a tying sacrifice fly in the seventh for Arizona.
Gavin Stone gave up five runs on five hits in five innings for the Dodgers, and Kelly allowed six runs (four earned) and 10 hits over 5 1/3 innings for Arizona.
–Field Level Media
