Grit Index: Dodgers’ Ryu does it all in win over D-backs
Apr 14, 2013, 4:25 AM | Updated: 5:01 am
Adrian Gonzalez had three hits, including his second home run of the season to help the Dodgers hold off the Diamondbacks 7-5 in front of 37,214 at Chase Field Saturday night. Los Angeles left-hander Hyun-Jin Ryu (2-1) pitched six innings, allowing three runs on six hits. He struck out nine in only his third major league appearance.
The Dodgers jumped out to a 6-1 lead with all six runs off of starter Ian Kennedy (1-1), who suffered his first defeat against L.A. in four career home starts. The Diamondbacks rallied for two runs in the 7th and another two runs in the 8th, including a pinch-hit RBI double by Aaron Hill, who had not played since Tuesday after getting hit in the hand by a pitch.
The Dodgers snapped a six-game losing streak at Chase Field.
The Good:
Diamondbacks pinch hitters went 3-for-4 with three RBI; and now on the season are 7-for-17 (.412) with two doubles, a home run and six RBI. Martin Prado extended his hitting streak to nine games with a solo home run in the 8th. Paul Goldschmidt went 2-for-4 and has reached base safely in all 11 games this season.
The Bad:
For the second straight game and third time this season, the Diamondbacks struck out 10 or more times. Of their 12 punch outs, D-backs hitters were caught looking seven times, including the final five hitters to strikeout.
Infielder Cliff Pennington was victim No. 10. He took a called third strike in the 7th inning. Either upset with the call or upset with himself, Pennington slammed his bat on home plate, splintering the bat. His actions got him tossed by home plate umpire Jim Reynolds. It was Pennington’s first career ejection.
Noted:
Chase Field is often used as a location for marriage proposals. Saturday, it was used as a location for one couple’s wedding ceremony. Jenn Casselman and Dustin Bosch were married on the D-backs’ dugout prior to batting practice. The bride wore a traditional wedding dress while the groom ditched the tuxedo rental in favor of a Sedona Red D-backs jersey. The mothers of the bridal party and kids in the wedding party wore D-backs white jerseys, and the groomsmen wore Sedona Red D-backs jersey. The reception was held in one of the Legends Suites, where the guests enjoyed the game.
Stat of the Night:
Ryu, with his parents in attendance, recorded the first three-hit game by a Dodger pitcher since Randy Wolf (3-for-4) on August 16, 2009 against, what a coincidence, the Diamondbacks at Chase Field. Ryu, 0-for-4 coming into the game, doubled in the 3rd for his first major-league hit before adding singles in the fifth and sixth innings.
He Said It:
“I was one pitch away from getting out of that inning,” Ian Kennedy said referring to the sixth. “If you want have outings, it makes a difference between having a solid outing or a just an okay one or a really bad one. Just not acceptable when, one pitch away like that, you just got to make your pitches. I left too much of the plate to (Matt) Kemp. I just wasn’t executing.”
Up Next:
The Diamondbacks conclude the homestand and three-game series against the Dodgers with Trevor Cahill (0-2, 5.91 ERA) on the mound. The Dodgers counter with the 68-million dollar man, Josh Beckett (0-1, 4.91 ERA). Cahill has never started a season 0-3. The good news for the D-backs right-hander is that he is 4-0 with a 2.43 ERA in seven career starts against Los Angeles.
