Jeff Salazar homers first time up in place of sore-legged Eric Byrnes, and Diamondbacks beat Dodgers 6-4
Associated Press | Apr 25, 08 12:45 AM CDT in
Sports
Jeff Salazar hit a two-run homer and Conor Jackson also had a pair of RBIs, leading the Arizona Diamondbacks to a 6-4 victory over the Los Angeles Dodgers on Thursday night.
Edgar Gonzalez (1-1) allowed three runs and seven hits in 5 1-3 innings with two walks and a strikeout, helping the Diamondbacks maintain their six-game lead over Colorado in the NL West. When they won the division title last season, the never led by more than five.
Juan Cruz got out of a bases-loaded jam in the seventh, striking out Matt Kemp and retiring pinch-hitter Mark Sweeney on a flyout after hitting his first batter, Andre Ethier.
Still trailing 5-3, the Dodgers got a run closer on an RBI single by Jeff Kent. The run was unearned because of an error by third baseman Mark Reynolds, whose throw during a rundown struck Rafael Furcal on the helmet as he retreated to second base on Nomar Garciaparra's comebacker to reliever Chad Qualls.
It was only one of several strange plays during the game. In the Arizona eighth, Reynolds hit what appeared to be a double-play grounder to third. But second base umpire Andy Fletcher ruled that Kent had taken Garciaparra's throw off the bag while trying to sidestep the sliding Jackson, prompting a long and loud argument from Kent and manager Joe Torre.
Both runners advanced on a wild pitch, and Justin Upton hit a sacrifice fly. Kent resumed his argument with Fletcher at the end of the eighth inning after taking his position, and the two had to be separated before Fletcher ejected him.
Brandon Lyon pitched a perfect ninth for his sixth save in eight attempts.
Chad Billingsley (0-4) got the loss despite a career-high 12 strikeouts. The right-hander allowed five runs, six hits and two walks over six innings. Billingsley has 29 strikeouts in 16 innings over his last three starts _ including nine against the Diamondbacks in a 1-0 loss on April 13 at Phoenix.
The Dodgers tied it 3-all in the fourth with an RBI single by James Loney and a sacrifice fly by Ethier.
Loney, who had a pair of RBI singles in Wednesday's win, was 4-for-9 in the two-game set with Arizona and is hitting .417 overall against Diamondbacks pitching (30-for-72) with three homers and 15 RBIs. He is 7-for-9 lifetime against Gonzalez with four RBIs.
Arizona regained the lead with two runs in the fifth. Chris Young got a broken-bat single, took third on Stephen Drew's double and scored on a wild pitch to Orlando Hudson. After a walk to Hudson put runners at the corners, Jackson barely beat the relay throw from Kent on a potential inning-ending double-play grounder to third as Drew came across the plate for a 5-3 lead.
Arizona left fielder Eric Byrnes got the night off to rest his sore legs after starting in each of the first 21 games. Salazar started in his place and gave the Diamondbacks a 3-1 lead in the second inning, driving a 1-1 pitch into the right-field pavilion after a leadoff double by Miguel Montero.
Notes:@ Los Angeles optioned rookie 3B Blake DeWitt to Triple-A Las Vegas and promoted RHP Cory Wade from the Vegas club because the Dodgers needed a 12th pitcher to replenish a battered bullpen. Wade, who turns 25 next month, made his big league debut with a hitless ninth after four-plus seasons in the minors. ... RHP Brandon Webb, 4-0 against Los Angeles last season, didn't pitch in any of the first five games against them because of the way the D'Backs rotation played out. His next outing is Sunday at San Diego against Jake Peavy in a matchup of the last two NL Cy Young winners. ... Arizona pitcher Micah Owings, who came in 4-for-13 at the plate this season, pinch-hit for Cruz in the seventh and grounded out.
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