D-backs’ 8th-inning comeback falls short in loss to Dodgers on Father’s Day

PHOENIX — It doesn’t get much more American than spending Father’s Day at the ballpark.

But unfortunately for the Arizona Diamondbacks on Sunday, their eighth-inning comeback fell just one run short as the Los Angeles Dodgers held on to beat the D-backs 9-8 in front of 31,661 fans at Chase Field.

Not only does the loss result in a series sweep, but it also extends the Diamondbacks’ franchise-record losing streak to 17 consecutive games.

Arizona scored a total of six runs in the bottom of the eighth inning to cut a seven-run deficit to just one.

D-backs right fielder Josh Reddick — who received boos every at-bat from Dodgers fans — drove in two runs on a single followed by a Christian Walker pinch-hit RBI single two batters later to make it 9-5.

And after a bases-loaded walk made it 9-6, Ketel Marte got his third hit of the day on a two-RBI single to bring the game to its final score of 9-8.

The climb back. 👀@ketel_marte4 | #RattleOn pic.twitter.com/Y7NcquLaB9

— Arizona Diamondbacks (@Dbacks) June 20, 2021

“I think it says a lot about our mindset,” Reddick said of the six-run eighth inning. “The way that we’ve been playing and the way these last 30 days have been for us have been pretty hellacious. So for us to go down early and grind back and put them on the edge right there, I think that’s a big step for us.

“I think we can make a smaller picture looking at the last week, we’ve scored a lot of runs for this ballclub. Just haven’t been able to get them on the other side, so grinding it out and just trying to do our best to stay in games. But signs like that are always a positive because you can get out of this game really quick when a team like that puts you down early.”

Despite a scoreless first two innings, the Dodgers were knocking on the door from the very first inning with runners reaching second and third before D-backs starting pitcher Alex Young was able to record the third out.

But Los Angeles’ second time through the order is when the Dodgers did their damage.

After Young struck out his counterpart Garrett Cleavinger to lead off the third inning, the next six Dodger hitters would all reach base.

The biggest blow came off the bat of Dodgers first baseman Albert Pujols, who belted a three-run blast over the left field fence to give Los Angeles a 4-0 lead.

Two batters later, former D-backs outfielder Steven Souza Jr. drove in another run on an RBI triple to cap-off the Dodgers’ five-run third inning that would end Young’s outing.

The lefty allowed five earned runs on seven hits while striking out three and walking two over three innings pitched on 70 pitches (43 strikes).

Corbin Martin would provide 3.2 innings in relief for the D-backs, but the right-hander suffered a similar fate.

Martin didn’t record an out until the fifth batter he faced after already allowing a two-RBI double off the bat of another former Diamondback in A.J. Pollock.

Martin managed to get out of the inning by getting Souza to ground into a 5-4-3 inning-ending double play with runners on first and second.

But the damage had already been done, as the Dodgers held a commanding 7-0 lead over the D-backs on a whopping 10 hits in only four innings.

Martin finished the day having allowed four earned runs on seven hits while striking out three and walking three over 3.2 innings pitched on 82 pitches (51 strikes).

“We got there by making plenty of mistakes. For me, it’s about putting the ball over the plate,” manager Torey Lovullo said postgame. “I think I was adding it up through five innings, I think they had 17 baserunners through five innings. That’s unacceptable.

“We have to put the baseball over the plate. We have to attack. We have to follow game plans and we have to expect good results. That was unacceptable today by what we saw on the mound. So we put ourselves in that position.”

The D-backs were able to muster a run in the fourth and sixth innings on RBI singles from Eduardo Escobar and Reddick, respectively.

EXTRA BASES

Lovullo made the decision to remove Escobar from the game for precautionary reasons due to right quad tightness. The plan is to get imaging on Monday.

The D-backs third baseman grimaced and grabbed his right quad while running back to first base after a foul ball.

UP NEXT

The D-backs host the Milwaukee Brewers in the first of a three-game set on Monday night, with a starting pitching matchup of Merrill Kelly vs. Brett Anderson.

First pitch is scheduled for 6:40 p.m. Catch all the action on 98.7 FM Arizona’s Sports Station.

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