Sedona Red Recap: With Banda on the bump, D-backs fall to Dodgers

PHOENIX — To borrow a line from the late, great Yogi Berra, “It’s deja vu all over again.”

Whatever momentum the Arizona Diamondbacks may have built by winning Game 1 of their series against the Los Angeles Dodgers fizzled over the next two nights, just as it had the series prior in San Francisco after they beat Madison Bumgarner in the opener.

Enrique Hernandez, Chase Taylor and Justin Turner combined for seven RBI to help lead the Dodgers beat the D-backs, 8-6, to win the three-game series in front of an announced crowd of 31,396 at Chase Field on Thursday.

The Dodgers have won six of seven to improve to 26-4 since July 4.

Hernandez doubled home three runs in the first as the Dodgers jumped on D-backs starter Anthony Banda, spoiling what was his 24th birthday. Taylor hit a solo home run in the fifth, and Turner added a two-run double in the sixth in support of Los Angeles starter Yu Darvish, who is now 2-0 in two starts since being acquired from the Rangers.

Darvish (8-9) went five innings, allowing two runs on five hits, including a home run to J.D. Martinez, with two walks and 10 strikeouts.

The Dodgers’ Kenley Jansen pitched a 1-2-3 ninth for his 30th save.

Meanwhile, Banda (1-2) lasted only four innings — he retired seven straight before being lifted for a pinch-hitter — in what was his third career start and second filling in for a concussed Robbie Ray.

The D-backs lost for the fourth time in five games and dropped a full game back of the Rockies for the top spot in the wild card standings. They are five-and-a-half games clear of the Cardinals.

THE GOOD

Get ’em on, get ’em over and get ’em in. That’s how you manufacture a run, and that’s what the D-backs did in the third inning to cut into the Dodgers’ 3-0 advantage. Ketel Marte worked a six-pitch leadoff walk, advanced to second on Banda’s sacrifice bunt, moved to third on a wild pitch and scored on David Peralta’s infield single, his second hit in as many at-bats, to make it 3-1. It was the first run allowed by Darvish in a Dodgers uniform.

All or nothing. That’s how to best sum up Martinez’s early D-backs career, at least at the plate. Of his 15 hits in 18 games since being acquired, seven have been home runs. The latest, his 23rd home run this season, came with one out in the fourth inning. Martinez went the other way with Darvish’s 95.5 mph fastball on a 2-2 count, depositing the ball just over the right field fence for a solo homer and pull the D-backs to within 3-2.

Just another extra-base hit. With one on and one out in the sixth inning, Chris Iannetta clubbed a 1-1 offering from Brock Stewart over the left-field fence for a two-run home run, scoring Daniel Descalso, who had singled the at-bat prior. It was Iannetta’s 10th homer of the season and it pulled the D-backs to within 8-4. In his last 36 games, Iannetta has recorded 27 hits, 21 of which are extra-base hits (13 doubles and eight home runs).

Make that a 10-game hitting streak for Marte. A fourth-inning single to right field extended the streak, but it was what happened four innings later, in the eighth, that really sparked the crowd. With one out and runners on second and third, Marte delivered a two-run single to center field to pull the D-backs to within 8-6. Marte finished 2-for-3 with a walk and went 5-for-10 in the series. During this 10-game hitting streak, he’s batting .412 (14-for-34).

THE BAD

On the game’s 30th pitch, 17 minutes after start time, Banda’s 1-2 curveball to Hernandez was ripped to the wall in left field for a two-out, bases-clearing double. And just like that, the Dodgers had a 3-0 lead six batters into the game. For Hernandez, it was his second hit in the series and the three RBI tied a single-game season-high. Banda needed six more pitches to record the final out.

For five straight games, Brandon Drury, the D-backs’ Opening Day starting second baseman, has not found his name listed in the lineup. He did find himself in the spotlight, however. Summoned to pinch-hit for Banda with two on and two out in the fourth inning of a 3-2 ballgame, Drury swung and missed at three straight pitches — a pair of sliders and a 96.5 mph fastball.

It had been more than a month, a stretch of 13 straight appearances, since Jake Barrett last surrendered a run. The scoreless streak came to a crashing halt when the first batter he faced, Taylor, led off the fifth inning with a home run to left field. It was a first-pitch slider, clocked at 94.7 mph. The Dodgers added two more runs thanks to an error and two infield singles to extend their lead to 6-2.

Of Darvish’s 10 strikeouts, six belonged to A.J. Pollock and Paul Goldschmidt. They each struck out three times — twice swinging and once looking. Darvish struck out two D-backs in both the first, second and fourth innings and then retired the side via the ‘K’ in the fifth, getting Pollock, Jake Lamb and Goldschmidt. The final out came on a pitch Goldschmidt thought was a ball, which it was according to replays.

STAT OF THE GAME

4-for-22: The D-backs hit .182 with runners in scoring position in the series. In the last six games, they are 9-for-52 (.173) in such situations.

HE SAID IT

“It’s a good marker for us. I think we go up against a team like this and see what we’re all about. That’s what I was proud of. We fought hard and unfortunately, we lost two out of three,” manager Torey Lovullo said. “Am I concerned? No. Minimal concern. I think we’re doing just fine.”

NOTED

– Banda threw a first-pitch strike to 11-of-18 batters faced. In addition, he reached a three-ball three times.

– Banda and Darvish combined to throw 61 pitches (they faced 12 total batters) in a 36-minute first inning.

– Descalso finished 3-for-4, his fourth three-hit effort of the season, and is batting .270 in his last 28 starts.

– Archie Bradley celebrated his 25th birthday and still has not appeared in a MLB game on his birthday.

– With a first-pitch temperature of 100 degrees, the game was played with both the roof and panels closed.

– It was Throwback Thursday. The D-backs wore their Alternate Home Vest Uniform (worn from 1998-2006).

– Senator John McCain was in attendance and sat in the second row just to the right of the D-backs dugout.

UP NEXT

Another first-place team visits.

After three games with the NL West leaders, the D-backs will now play three games against the NL Central leaders, the Chicago Cubs.

The series opener sees a pair of veteran right-handers, Taijuan Walker and John Lackey, take the mound on Friday. First pitch is scheduled for 6:40 p.m. with pregame coverage beginning 40 minutes earlier on 98.7 FM, Arizona’s Sports Station.

Walker, who turns 25 on Sunday, is looking for his first win since June 21, seven starts ago.

Most recently, Walker (6-5) earned a no decision at San Francisco despite recording a quality start of three runs on six hits in six innings with no walks and six strikeouts. He exited the game with a 4-0 lead.

Walker has never faced the Cubs.

Meanwhile, Lackey (9-9) is on a four-start winning streak. He just beat the Nationals, and during this run of his he has not allowed more than two runs or six hits.

Lackey, who last lost on June 28, has pitched at least five innings in each of his previous 21 outings this season.

For his career, Lackey is 4-0 in five starts with a 2.76 ERA against the D-backs.

This is the second meeting with the Cubs this month. Just last week, the D-backs took two of three from the Cubs at Wrigley Field.

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