Arizona Diamondbacks vs Los Angeles Dodgers Box Score on Sep 06, 2017

The Sports Xchange
Sep 7, 2017

LOS ANGELES -- The Arizona Diamondbacks' rise continued Wednesday with their franchise-record 13th consecutive victory, while the Los Angeles Dodgers continued to freefall at an accelerated pace.

Taijuan Walker's solid six-inning start, combined with a go-ahead rally in the seventh inning, gave the Diamondbacks a 3-1 victory over the Dodgers on Wednesday at Dodger Stadium.

Arizona posted its fourth consecutive series sweep, two of which came against the Dodgers.

The Dodgers lost a season-high sixth consecutive game and fell for the 11th time in the past 12. They had not been swept in a series all season before losing all three games at Arizona last week, then dropping all three to the Diamondbacks at home this week.

Arizona (82-58) has shaved 10 1/2 games off the Dodgers' National League West lead in 12 days but still trails Los Angeles by 10 1/2 games. The Diamondbacks led the NL wild-card chase by 1 1/2 games on Sept. 25, and now lead it by 7 1/2.

Walker (9-7), a Southern California native out of Yucaipa, continued a strong recent run by giving up one run on four hits over six innings. He walked three and struck out four. Walker has not given up more than one earned run in any of his past four starts, throwing a combined 22 2/3 innings over that stretch.

The Diamondbacks took the lead for good in the seventh inning when pinch hitter Adam Rosales ripped an RBI double off Dodgers reliever Luis Avilan (2-2). Ketel Marte, who singled to open the inning, scored from first base on Rosales' hit just ahead of the relay throw from shortstop Chris Taylor.

After Arizona loaded the bases later in the inning, Daniel Descalso brought home another run when he was grazed in the left arm by a pitch.

The Diamondbacks' run of 98 consecutive innings without trailing came to an end early Wednesday. The Dodgers took a 1-0 lead in the first inning on a fielder's choice groundout by Cody Bellinger that scored Taylor from third base.

The streak of 98 innings tied a stretch by the 1947 Brooklyn Dodgers for the third longest in the live-ball era (since 1920), according to STATS. The top two marks are held by the 2002 Oakland Athletics (102 innings) and the 1942 New York Yankees (101 innings).

The Dodgers (92-47) got the kind of start they were looking for from right-hander Kenta Maeda, who struck out a season high-tying eight batters in five innings. He was coming off a defeat at Arizona last week in which he gave up a career-high seven earned runs in three innings.

On Wednesday, Maeda allowed only four hits and one walk, yielding only an unearned run that scored on a second-inning double by Walker.

NOTES: The Dodgers called up top pitching prospect RHP Walker Buehler, who has appeared at the Class A, Double-A and Triple-A levels this season. They added him to the major league bullpen. ... Dodgers CF Joc Pederson, who was send down to Triple-A Oklahoma City last month after a 2-for-41 dry spell, went 1-for-2 in his return Wednesday after being recalled Tuesday. ... Arizona 1B Paul Goldschmidt, who was cleared of any structural damage in his right elbow this week, continued to be held out of action, but he could return this weekend at San Diego. ... Diamondbacks LHP Patrick Corbin, who pitches at home against San Diego on Friday, is 5-0 with a 0.50 ERA over his last five starts. ... The Dodgers open a four-game series with the visiting Colorado Rockies on Thursday.