PHOENIX — For most of the night Friday, the Los Angeles Dodgers and Arizona Diamondbacks were locked in a tight NL West fight.
Then came the eighth inning, and an avalanche of Arizona runs.
Paul Goldschmidt, Yasmany Tomas and Chris Iannetta each drove in two in a nine-run inning and the Diamondbacks routed the Dodgers 13-5.
"Hats off to everybody," Arizona’s Chris Owings said. "It was just a team effort, one you can look back on and just smile."
Chris Taylor’s pinch-hit home run had put the Dodgers up 5-4 in the seventh and manager Dave Roberts turned things over to the usually reliable Los Angeles bullpen.
"Uncharacteristic for us," Roberts said. "You have to give those guys credit. They were aggressive in the zone and when we were just missing off (the plate) with balls, they were taking them."
The Diamondbacks had six hits and five walks in the inning. Only one hit was for extra bases.
"Usually there’s homers or extra-base hits or something like that worked in," Goldschmidt said. "It was really a great team inning there."
It was the sixth time Arizona has scored nine runs in an inning. The club record is 13.
"Quite a day, highlighted by a very impressive eighth inning," Arizona manager Torey Lovullo said. "I thought the at-bats inside of that inning were very patient, exactly what we’re talking about as far as handing it off to the next guy. It was much needed after a couple of lean games offensively."
The Diamondbacks had managed a total of one run in their previous two games, losses at San Diego.
Luis Avilan walked in the tying run in the eighth and Sergio Romo was called for a balk to bring home the go-ahead score. Romo said it was his first big league balk.
"It got called a balk regardless of what I think," Romo said. "It was a balk in a big situation."
Goldschmidt, coming off a 5-for-33 road trip, singled off the glove of second baseman Chase Utley to make it 8-5, Tomas doubled into the left field corner to bring in a pair and Iannetta singled home two more.
Ross Stripling (0-1) pitched one inning plus two batters in the loss.
Taylor’s homer was the first run allowed this season by Archie Bradley (1-0), who went two innings to get the victory.
The Dodgers took a 2-1 lead in the first and it was a one-run game the rest of the way until Arizona’s eighth-inning avalanche.
A.J. Pollock fell a triple shy of the cycle for the Diamondbacks, just off a 4-6 road trip. They improved to 7-1 at home.
Corey Seager had three hits, including a home run, and drove in three runs for Los Angeles.
The Dodgers scored twice on Taijuan Walker’s first five pitches of the game.
Joc Pederson singled sharply up the middle and Seager followed with a shot over the porch and onto the walkway beyond the wall in left centre.
Arizona cut the lead in half quickly, with Pollock hitting his first career leadoff home run. The Diamondbacks tied it on consecutive doubles by Pollock and Chris Owings in the third.
BACKFIRED
The Dodgers’ strategy backfired in the fifth inning when Goldschmidt was intentionally walked to put runners at first and second and bring up left-handed batting Jake Lamb to face the lefty Alex Wood.
The runners advanced on a wild pitch and scored when Lamb singled up the middle to put Arizona up 4-3.
Los Angeles tied it at 4 in the sixth on Andrew Toles’ RBI single.
TRAINER’S ROOM
Dodgers: Roberts says he hopes 2B Logan Forsythe, placed on the 10-day DL with a hairline toe fracture on Wednesday, can be back in about two weeks.
Diamondbacks: Right-handed reliever Jake Barrett (shoulder), who hasn’t played this season, is expected to throw a live batting practice session Saturday.
UP NEXT
Left-hander Robbie Ray (1-0, 1.96 ERA), who struck out 10 in a no-decision against the Dodgers in Los Angeles on Monday, takes the mound for Arizona and right-hander Kenta Maeda (1-1, 7.07 ERA) goes for the Dodgers. Maeda allowed four runs in four innings against Arizona last Saturday, with no decision in the Dodgers’ 8-4 victory.
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