Dodgers Take Two From D’Backs, Recent Call-Ups Impress

The Diamondbacks began a ten-game homestand and the first opponents to visit Chase Field were the Los Angeles Dodgers. With the Phillies facing the Giants, both the Dodgers and D-Backs could move up in the standings with some wins. Dee Gordon, who’s already making a good impression on the Dodger faithful, made a statement over the weekend proving he’s the right man for the shortstop position with impressive plays. With Rubby De La Rosa out, Nathan Eovaldi got a chance to make his major league debut on Saturday. Before the series opener, Anthony Robles, an ASU wrestler who won an NCAA title this season even though he only has one leg, gave the Dodgers a pep talk.

Chad Billingsley took the mound for the Dodgers, opposing Josh Collmenter, who caught my eye with his interesting pitching motion but it wasn’t enough to fool Dodger batters. In the top of the third, there would be quite a parade of runs, beginning when Casey Blake hit a single and Dee Gordon scored on outfielder Justin Upton’s throwing error. An Ethier double to made it 2-0. Kemp’s single put runners at the corners. Rivera’s RBI single made it 3-0. An Aaron Miles sac fly made it 4-0 and James Loney’s single finally chased Collmenter from the game. In came Micah Owings to try to stop the bleeding. Barajas wasn’t going to let that happen. His two run double capped off a six run third inning that saw the Dodgers bat around the lineup. The Diamondbacks would get a couple runs back and make it a game in the late innings. In the sixth, Upton’s triple was followed by a Chris Young sac fly to make it 6-1. The next inning started with Billingsley giving up a leadoff walk. A single put two men on with no one out. Parra’s RBI single made it 6-2. Burrough’s loaded the bases and chased Billingsley. Guerrier came in and gave up an infield single to keep the bases loaded and make it 6-3. Elbert came in and struck out Cody Ransom. With the bases loaded and a potential rally going, Justin Upton hit a screaming line drive that looked to be another RBI single. Dee Gordon snagged it for the out then doubled up Burrough’s at second to end the rally and gain a sure spot on a top ten plays somewhere. Barajas homered later in the game and Young would score on a sac fly. With both teams scoring one, the game ended at a 7-4 Dodgers win. Javy Guerra also picked up the four out save, two of them via the strikeout. After Gordon’s rally ending play, Dodger fans were ready for Saturday, looking for more out of their young shortstop.

Not only was Dee Gordon on the spotlight on Saturday, but making his MLB debut put Nathan Eovaldi on everyone’s radar. He had some pregame jitters, but was excited to make his debut. He stuck out two of the first three batters he faced. He’d get some run support in the top of the second. Juan Rivera doubled. Two batters later, Rod Barajas hit an RBI single to give Eovaldi and the Dodgers a 1-0 lead. Opposing pitcher Joe Saunders hit a two run single to take the lead 2-1, and Eovaldi lead off the next inning with his first career hit. Eovaldi and Saunders both kept batters in check. Entering the sixth, the score was knotted up at two. Aaron Miles’ RBI single chased Saunders and gave the Dodgers a 3-2 lead. Barajas followed with an RBI single of his own. The 4-2 lead gave Eovaldi a chance to pick up his first major league win when he left the game. Elbert came in for the save in the ninth and the Dodgers would go on to win it 5-3 to make to rookie’s debut a good one. With the Phillies winning back to back against the Giants, the Dodgers could gain even more ground on the NL West leaders by completing the sweep.

For the sweep, they called on Clayton Kershaw. Ian Kennedy would oppose him in the series finale. Once again, the Dodgers would squander runners. In the first inning, two men on and nothing was done with them. Kershaw took the mound and Kelly Johnson took him deep for a two run shot to give the D-backs a 2-0 early lead. Kershaw would settle down and strikeout seven batters before the fifth inning. In the top of the fifth, Loney took Kennedy deep to cut the lead in half. The 2-1 lead would be gone in the next inning. Following an Aaron Miles single, Ethier doubled to tie the game. Two batters later, Rivera gave the Dodgers the lead with a single that scored Ethier. It wouldn’t last long. In the bottom of the seventh, Cody Ransom took Kershaw deep for a two run shot to make it 4-3. The Dodgers couldn’t do much against Arizona’s bullpen, who shut them out for the last couple innings to preserve the lead.

Dee Gordon and Nathan Eovaldi both made quite the impact this weekend to give the Dodgers the series win. With the two wins, the Dodgers improve to 52-61. Arizona drops to 62-52. The Dodgers are 10 games back from the NL West lead. They begin a three game stand against the Philadelphia Phillies on Monday.

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