The Arizona Diamondbacks have started to put things together at the right time, as Patrick Corbin pitched six scoreless innings in his first start since being recalled from the minors and third baseman Chris Johnson homered for the second time in the series. The result was a 4-0 shutout that ended a three game sweep for Arizona over the Los Angeles Dodgers.
AZSnakepit had the coverage (find the full recap here):
The Dodgers did at least start the game off with something they hadn't managed yet this series- they kept Paul Goldschmidt from hitting a home run in the first inning. Stephen Fife did that by keeping Goldy from reaching the plate in the first inning, sending the DBacks down 1-2-3. In the bottom of the inning, though, Patrick Corbin looked like he might start his stint in the majors with some trouble. Two quick ground outs started it off, but he gave up a single and then a walk to let the Dodgers get a runner in scoring position. A fly out to center from Juan Rivera got him out of trouble, though.
In the second, the DBacks offense came to life. Well, sort of. Paul Goldschmidt started off with a single, and then he took second on what the score describes as Justin Upton "flied out on a bunt to the catcher." Interesting. Miguel Montero played his own game of Goofus and Gallant here- good Miguel Montero hits singles to center and brings his teammate around to score for an early lead, while bad Miguel Montero tries to take second and gets thrown out. That aggressiveness may have cost them- Chris Johnson drew a walk and then Stephen Drew hit a double to right that might have scored a runner from second, but Patrick Corbin struck out to end the inning. Still, the DBacks held a 1-0 lead.
Between Miguel Montero, Paul Goldschmidt and Chris Johnson in the three-game set, they combined to hit 18/32, homer six times and drive in 18 runs.
Arizona is only 1 1/2 games behind the Dodgers and three games behind the Giants for the division lead, pending the outcome of their game Wednesday night.
Arizona now travels to Philadelphia to begin a three-game set against the Phillies starting Friday.
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