Los Angeles Dodgers @ Arizona DBacks (9/8/20) — Final: LAD 10, ARI 9 (10)

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Dodgers win! What a wacky ride that was!

The Los Angeles Dodgers comeback in the seventh inning and eventually win the ballgame in extras, defeating the Arizona Diamondbacks 10-9 as the result of a roller-coaster night.

Luke Weaver walked Corey Seager and Cody Bellinger in the opening frame, but managed to escape unscathed. Walker Buehler smoothly and effortlessly sat at 100mph in spotless home half, and Gavin Lux hit his first home run of the year in the second — a solo shot to the opposite field. Edwin Ríos flew out to the wall before Austin Barnes ripped a single, but the Dodgers were only able to score the lone time. Buehler notched 101 on the radar gun in a quick bottom frame. Bellinger and Max Muncy both singled with 2-outs in the third, but they were left stranded. After Buehler retired the first seven batters of the game with ease, the Diamondbacks tied it with a solo homer from Daulton Varsho. After back-to-back singles by Tim Locastro and Josh Rojas, they took a 2-1 lead on Lux’s throwing error. An RBI fielders choice preceded Kole Calhoun’s 2-run shot, and Arizona pulled ahead 5-1. After a strong start, Buehler’s rough third inning of work, while also still dealing with blisters, prompted him to be pulled: 2.1IP, 5R (2ER), 4H, 0BB, 2K. Victor Gonzalez relieved him and struck-out Eduardo Escobar on 3-pitches to end the inning. Ríos and Barnes both drew walks, but Weaver was able to work a pair of fly-outs to pitch a scoreless top of the fourth. Gonzalez struck-out a batter in a 1-2-3 frame to finish the inning and conclude his solid relief outing. AJ Pollock led off the fifth with a single, and Muncy walked with 1-out. Now facing Travis Bergen, Chris Taylor crushed a single up the middle, scoring Pollock and pulling LA within 3. Lux struck-out, but Bergen walked Ríos to load the bases with 2-outs. Barnes, however, grounded-out, and the Dodgers were unable to get themselves back in the game, stranding their 10th base runner while remaining behind 5-2. Dylan Floro worked around a knock in a scoreless bottom frame, but Mookie Betts, Seager, and Pollock all struck-out against Hector Rondon to begin the sixth. Adam Kolarek allowed his first run of the year, resulting after a walk and a single. The D-Backs grabbed a 6-2 lead, and Bellinger walked to leadoff the seventh. Taylor was also given a free pass prior to Lux’s sharp single up the middle that brought home a run to make it 6-3. Still with a good opportunity to add more, a passed ball moved the runners up to 2nd and 3rd. Ríos crushed a line-drive double off the wall in right/center to score two more, and Betts tied the game at 6 with a single up the middle. With Betts running, Seager hit a sharp ground-ball up the middle that Rojas snagged while diving, impressively keeping his foot on the bag before throwing to 1st to turn a spectacular inning-ending double-play. Blake Trienen pitched a swift frame to shutdown Arizona, sending the game to the eighth. Pollock lined-out to start things, and although he struck-out swinging, Bellinger reached on a wild pitch. Taylor was hit, and with 2-outs, Kevin Ginkel came in to face Lux. Ginkel walked him, loading the bases for Ríos who grounded-out sharply, failing to put LA in front. In the bottom half, Trienen got the first out and was relieved by Alex Wood. He hit a batter and allowed a single, but navigated the traffic to get the final two outs and keep the score even. Ginkel got Barnes and Betts to lazily fly-out before walking Seager, and he ended the frame with a strike-out of Pollock. Wood stayed on for the bottom of the ninth and struck-out Varsho on 3-pitches. He then walked Locastro, but answered by working a fly-out. Kenley Jansen came in, and on a 1-1 pitch, Locastro stole 2nd. The throw trickled into center field, and he advanced to 3rd; however, he was thrown out at the plate attempting to catch the Dodgers sleeping. A risky choice proved to be a mistake, and the game went into extras. Yoan López was given the task, and his first pitch to Bellinger was lined into center — advancing Pollock to 3rd with 1-out. Muncy was intentionally walked, and LA caught a break when Taylor’s chopper was misplayed by Escobar, allowing Pollock to score. Subsequently, Lux waited back on a breaking ball and smashed a towering 3-run bomb, extending the lead to 10-6. Jansen allowed a 2-run homer to Christian Walker after a long at-bat, and it became 10-9 following a double and an RBI single. Arizona made a late push, but it was (barely…) in vain, as Jansen got a punch-out to end the ballgame.

The boys in blue come out on top after a rugged and intense night of baseball. They display their versatility, getting 7.1 inning from the bullpen while also walking 12 times. Furthermore, they get back in the win column after dropping the previous two. Tomorrow, they’ll look to clinch the series victory with Clayton Kershaw on the mound. Kershaw, 5-1 with a beautiful 1.50 ERA, gets the ball and will hope to strengthen his case for the Cy Young Award. 27-year-old Taylor Clarke, 1-0 with an ERA of 2.96, has had a very good season thus far and will be on the mound for the D-Backs. 6:40pm first pitch. Go Dodgers!