LOS ANGELES — Taijuan Walker pitched five solid innings and the Arizona Diamondbacks beat the Dodgers 3-1 Sunday after Los Angeles starter Rich Hill was pulled with more blister problems.
Hill (1-1) was activated from the disabled list before this start after missing time with a blister on his left middle finger, but he re-aggravated the blister and made it only three innings and 54 pitches before leaving. The left-hander allowed two runs, five hits and two walks and struck out two.
Walker (2-1) struck out seven and allowed a run, four hits and a walk. Fernando Rodney pitched the ninth for his fourth save.
Chris Iannetta hit a solo homer off Hill in the third inning, and five batters later, Hill walked Jake Lamb with the bases loaded for a 2-0 Arizona lead. Paul Goldschmidt singled in another run in the seventh inning.
Hill appeared frustrated when he arrived in the dugout after the third and went straight to the clubhouse. He returned to the mound to start the fourth inning, but Dodgers manager Dave Roberts and a trainer met him on the mound for a long conversation before he was pulled.
Hill signed a $48 million, three-year free agent deal in the off-season after missing considerable time last year because of blister issues. The Dodgers had eight pitchers in the bullpen Sunday in case Hill’s blister flared up.
Walker loaded the bases in the first inning by walking Yasmani Grandal, but he struck out Joc Pederson to end the inning.
Archie Bradley followed Walker with 2 2/3 scoreless innings, allowing a hit and a walk. Bradley has thrown 9 1/3 scoreless innings to open the season, his first as a full-time reliever.
Yasiel Puig had an RBI double to left field in the fourth inning.
TRAINER’S ROOM
Diamondbacks: LHP Steve Hathaway (left shoulder inflammation) will throw Monday. … RHP Jake Barrett (right shoulder inflammation) was expected to play light catch Sunday.
Dodgers: INF Logan Forsythe (hamstring) was available to pinch hit and is expected back in the lineup Monday.
UP NEXT
Diamondbacks: Arizona closes out a four-game set in Los Angeles with LHP Robbie Ray (1-0, 2.19 ERA) on the mound. Ray got his first win of the season against the Giants last time out behind 6 2/3 shutout innings. He also walked five but worked his way out of the jams. He’s struck out 14 in two starts.
Dodgers: RHP Brandon McCarthy (2-0, 1.50 ERA) has been fantastic in both of his starts, including six scoreless innings against the Cubs in Chicago. He threw six innings and allowed just two runs in his season debut. The previous two years, he made just one start following Tommy John surgery.
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