Dodger Bats Come Alive In 7-4 Series Finale Over Arizona
PHOENIX (CBSLA.com/AP) — Alex Guerrero had his first big league homer and four RBIs, Zack Greinke pitched seven strong innings and the Los Angeles Dodgers avoided a three-game sweep with a 7-4 win over the Arizona Diamondbacks on Sunday.
It was also Guerrero's first start of his career.
Yasiel Puig hit his first homer of 2015 off Josh Collmenter (0-2) and Guerrero finished 3 for 5 with a two-run homer off Oliver Perez in the eighth inning. Joc Pederson had his first big league homer and three of Los Angeles' 16 hits after the Dodgers managed two in a shutout loss the night before.
Greinke (1-0) was sharp in his second straight start to open the season, allowing five hits and striking out seven.
Arizona scored four runs in the ninth inning off Chris Hatcher, on a three-run double by A.J. Pollock and Jordan Pacheco's RBI single. Joel Peralta got Ender Inciarte to fly out for the final out and his second save.
Greinke pitched well in his opening start on Tuesday, allowing a run and two hits against San Diego. He ended up with a no-decision after the Dodgers' bullpen allowed six runs over the final three innings for a 7-3 loss.
Greinke was good again, allowing one runner to reach second base while keeping the Diamondbacks off-balance.
Puig broke out of his early season slump with one big swing.
The Cuban slugger sat on the bench for Saturday's game against Arizona after opening the season 2 for 17. Puig hit a foul ball into the second deck in his third at-bat against Collmenter and straightened it out two pitches later, lining a leadoff homer to left in the fifth inning to put Los Angeles up 3-0.
Collmenter struggled after getting the ball on opening day for the first time, allowing five runs and 10 hits in 4 2-3 innings against San Francisco.
He continued to scuffle against the Dodgers, though worked through traffic to limit them to three runs and nine hits in five innings. Jimmy Rollins had a sacrifice fly in the third inning and Guerrero got his first big league RBI with a run-scoring single in the fourth.
Guerrero, in the starting lineup after injuries to Justin Turner and Juan Uribe, added a run-scoring double in the seventh inning and closed out his memorable day with a no-doubt homer to left.
UP NEXT
Dodgers: RHP Brandon McCarthy will make his second start for the Dodgers against Seattle on Monday. He allowed four runs and nine hits in five innings against San Diego in his debut on Wednesday.
Diamondbacks: RHP Rubby De La Rosa won in his Arizona debut on Tuesday against the Giants, but got plenty of help from Arizona's offense after allowing six earned runs in 5 1-3 innings. He will start the opener of a three-game series against the Padres on Monday.
TRAINING ROOM
Dodgers: Manager Don Mattingly did not expect Uribe (hamstring) and Turner (cut finger) to be out more than a few days.
Diamondbacks: Arizona placed catcher Gerald Laird on the 15-day disabled list with lower-back spasms, retroactive to April 9. He was scheduled to start Saturday against the Dodgers, but starter Tuffy Gosewich had to play after Laird's back flared up.
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