Arizona Diamondbacks @ Los Angeles Dodgers
D-Backs now 55 games under .500
LOS ANGELES (AP) -- Steve Finley ended an 0-for-19 slump in the
seventh inning. The hit he'll remember, though, came in the bottom
of the ninth against his old team.
width=65> height=90 align=right alt="Steve Finley"> | |
color="#666666">Finley |
Finley doubled in the winning run, giving the Los Angeles
Dodgers a 6-5 win over the Arizona Diamondbacks on Wednesday night.
It was the Dodgers' 19th victory in their last at-bat this season.
"We need wins. We'll take them any way we can get them," said
Finley, who was acquired from Arizona on July 31. "I'm just trying
to see the ball and not do too much. I've been guilty of that
lately."
Finley's hit off Mike Koplove (3-4) bounced off the right-field
wall, scoring Cesar Izturis from first with one out.
"It was a changeup. I left it up in the zone a little bit,"
Koplove said. "He's a smart hitter. I got him out on it the last
time and he made an adjustment on it this time. I should have known
better."
Eric Gagne (6-3) retired the side in the ninth for the victory,
which tied his career high.
Koplove gave up one run on four hits in 1 1/3 innings and struck
out one.
The last-place Diamondbacks lost their sixth in a row, dropping
them 55 games below .500 for the first time in franchise history.
The first-place Dodgers remained 4½ games ahead of San Francisco
in the NL West, thanks to timely hitting by their bench.
"I don't know how many times they've come through this year,
but if you start adding it up, I think the number is starting to
get fairly significant," Los Angeles manager Jim Tracy said.
The Dodgers tied it at 5 in the bottom of the sixth on a
bases-loaded, fielder's choice by pinch-hitter Robin Ventura that
scored Milton Bradley, who led off with a single.
Shea Hillenbrand hit a two-run homer in the top of the sixth off
Elmer Dessens to give Arizona a 5-4 lead.
Pinch-hitter Olmedo Saenz hit a grand slam in the fifth, putting
the Dodgers in front 4-3. Tuesday night, Ventura had a pinch-hit
grand slam against Arizona -- Los Angeles' first since 1993.
Saenz, batting for starter Odalis Perez with the bases loaded,
sent an 0-1 pitch from Casey Fossum into the left-field pavilion
for his first career slam.
"I was looking to get a base hit so we can come back," Saenz
said. "He hung up a breaking ball. It's one of the best feelings
in baseball and we got the win."
Shawn Green's leadoff single knocked Fossum to the mound as it
whizzed past him into center field. Jose Hernandez singled to left
and Jayson Werth walked to load the bases. After David Ross popped
to right field, Saenz gave the Dodgers their first lead of the
game.
"One bad pitch. That sums it up," Fossum said.
Initially, Perez wasn't happy about getting yanked.
"I felt bad," he said. "I don't want to be there only five
innings. It worked out. It was the perfect decision by the manager,
even if I felt mad."
Trailing 3-0 with the bases loaded, Tracy knew he had to remove
Perez.
"Nothing was wrong with his performance, except for the fact
that he couldn't figure out Snyder," he said. "He didn't do a bad
job, we just had to move him in that situation when we have an
opportunity to score some runs and get back in the game."
Chris Snyder homered twice to give the Diamondbacks an early 3-0
lead.
Three of Snyder's four homers this season have been against the
Dodgers, including one last Thursday, when the Diamondbacks
defeated Los Angeles 3-1 before their skid began.
Snyder gave Arizona a 2-0 lead in the second inning when he
homered to left field off Perez. Alex Cintron, who singled, also
scored.
Snyder made it 3-0 in the fifth when he led off with a solo shot
to left on a 3-1 count from Perez.Game notes
The Dodgers' 15 wins against the Diamondbacks are the most
they've had against a team since beating San Diego 16 times in
1974. ... Gagne also won six games in 2001. ... Arizona RF Danny
Bautista was ejected in the eighth inning for arguing a called
third strike by plate umpire Andy Fletcher. ... It was Snyder's
first multihomer game. ... Saenz's grand slam was his third
pinch-hit homer of the season, and seventh of his career. It was
the Dodgers' eighth slam this season. ... Fossum has allowed 29
homers this season, tying him for third in the NL.
LA wins 3-0
Game Information
- Umpires:
- Home Plate Umpire - Andy Fletcher
- First Base Umpire - Tim Welke
- Second Base Umpire - Gary Cederstrom
- Third Base Umpire - Jim Reynolds
2026 National League West Standings
| Team | W | L | PCT | GB | STRK |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Los Angeles | 20 | 12 | .625 | - | L3 |
| San Diego | 19 | 12 | .613 | 0.5 | L3 |
| Arizona | 16 | 15 | .516 | 3.5 | L2 |
| Colorado | 14 | 19 | .424 | 6.5 | L2 |
| San Francisco | 13 | 19 | .406 | 7 | L4 |


