(SportsNetwork.com) – The Los Angeles Dodgers take aim at a fourth victory in
a row on Sunday afternoon as they try to sweep a three-game set with the
Arizona Diamondbacks.
After rolling to an 8-0 win in Friday’s opener, the Dodgers got things going
late to pull out a 6-4 victory last night. Joc Pederson tied the game with a
solo homer in the seventh and Howie Kendrick plated the go-ahead run with an
RBI single later in the frame.
Jimmy Rollins singled in Yasmani Grandal, who had three hits, with an
insurance run in the eighth inning for the Dodgers, who have won six of their
past eight. Justin Turner homered and scored three times in the win.
“I think we’re playing great baseball right now,” Pederson said.
Paul Goldschmidt belted a two-run homer and Aaron Hill added a solo shot for
the Diamondbacks, losers in six of their last eight contests.
Jeremy Hellickson pitched the first 5 1/3 innings for the Diamondbacks, while
Scott Baker lasted the first four frames for the Dodgers.
“You never want to throw 30 pitches in the first inning. I don’t know how many
I threw tonight, but it’s probably around there. I just have to be more
efficient and get ahead,” Hellickson said.
The Diamondbacks will start Chase Anderson, who did not factor into the
outcome of his first three starts before taking a 5-4 loss to Colorado on
Monday.
Anderson yielded an early three-run homer and allowed five runs in all over 5
1/3 innings on eight hits and a pair of walks. He struck out four and has a
4.24 earned run average on the year.
“The guys battled,” Diamondbacks manager Chip Hale said. “I thought (Anderson)
settled down after the first few innings.”
The 27-year-old righty is 1-1 with a 5.06 ERA in four career starts versus the
Dodgers, getting a no-decision against them on April 10. He was charged with
three runs on five hits and three walks over five frames with a season-high
six strikeouts.
Brett Anderson gets the call for the Dodgers and is coming off a no-decision
versus San Francisco on Monday. He did not allow a run over the first four
innings, but yielded three while recording just two outs in the fifth.
The 27-year-old southpaw is 1-1 with a 5.49 ERA this season and 0-1 with a
4.50 ERA in two prior meetings with the Diamondbacks. He did not factor into a
4-3 loss at Arizona on April 10, yielding three runs over a season-high six
innings.
The Diamondbacks won two of three at home versus the Dodgers from April 10-12,
but Los Angeles has still won 10 of the previous 13 meetings.
