Arizona Diamondbacks 8, Los Angeles Dodgers 5, Slicing and Dicing

Let me first state how thankful I am that this game did not go into extra innings. I am very grateful that Zack Greinke and Jerry Layne agree on a strike-zone that drove the Dodgers hitters into insanity.

The Diamondbacks jumped on the Dodgers early with A.J. Pollock starting the night off with a homer to left field. Pollock was able to barrel the ball up with an 0-2 count which is rather impressive. Nick Ahmed and Zack Greinke both singled driving in a run a piece. Greinke’s hit was rather impressive as it was absolutely ripped. Like the broadcast team talked about, Greinke has garnered a-lot of respect as a hitter and thus changing the game plan for opposing pitchers.

Ahmed and Pollock added home runs in the 4th and 5th respectively. This was Pollock’s second home run of the night. The Dodgers attempted to mount a comeback on the shoulders of Yasmani Grandal, Joc Pederson and Max Muncy. However, it was not enough.

Our prayers will be up for David Peralta as he took a nasty pitch form Tony Cingrani and nailed him in the right wrist. It seemed to barely get him, however it will be something to watch. The positive note here is that Peralta was able to get a run in to extend the D-Backs lead to 3.

Jarod Dyson also took a nasty spill when Chris Taylor’s throw was long and lifted Bellinger off of the bag. Thus causing Bellinger to try and place a tag which led to Dyson’s spill. Dyson’s pain was not for nothing as the lead was extended to 4.

I will be the first to admit that I may have made a grave mistake in terms of my win predictions. This team is exceeding expectations. This game indicated alot of what is providing the D-Backs with the ammunition to win, and some great signs from Zack Greinke. Zach was hitting all of his spots tonight and using the strike zone that Jerry Layne provided.

With Jake Lamb and Steven Souza having missed time, you cannot afford to lose the offensive capabilities of the top of your lineup. Finally, this team is a defensive juggernaut. Like Bob Brenly said on the broadcast, even though David Peralta left the game, the defense did not worsen.

The D-Backs bullpen continues to be one of its strengths. While Yoshi gave up the bomb to Max Muncy, he stopped the bleeding. That is the biggest thing you ask from your bullpen. The Sheriff came in and gave up a run on a long Joc Pederson line-out. This led to Archie Bradley getting the call as Matt Kemp was officially announced into the game. The biggest thing you have to worry about is the injuries to top players. Archie Bradley came into a high leverage situation with a runner on third and was tacked on for a run. His ability to work quickly and get strikes is impressive. Brad Boxberger came in to close out the game and earned it by getting Muncy, Valera and Chris Taylor out with less than 8 pitches.

This may be the D-Backs fan in me, however this game didn't seem as intriguing as previous matchups. While the score indicates a close game, (for myself at least) it didn't really feel in doubt. Yes you had the, “late inning comeback,” but it didn't really worry me. A.J. Pollock’s third bomb of the night was just the insurance needed to put away the Dodgers.

Snake Stars

☆☆☆: Zack Greinke: 6.0 IP, 4 H, 2 R, 2 ER, 1 BB, 10 SO, 2-2, 1 RBI*
☆☆: A.J. Pollock: 3-5, 3 R, 3 RBI, 3 HR
☆: Nick Ahmed: 3-5, 2 R, 3 RBI, 1 HR

Roll Call: With 719 comments and 36 commenters, we were joined by alot of great D-Backs fans! These commenters included AZKodiak, AzRattler, BigSmarty, CumulusChoir, DORRITO, Desert_Devil, Diamondhacks, Fangdango, GuruB, Jackwriter, Jim McLennan, Makakilo, Michael McDermott, MikeDavisAZ, MikeMono, MrMrrbi, SonomaComa1999, Sprankton, The so-called Beautiful, Turambar, asteroid, bbtng, cardshuffle, coldblueAZ, edbigghead, hotclaws, kamshing, kilnborn, megnetic, onedotfive, ponus, red_leader, rustynails77, shoewizard, since_98, smartplays.

I am deeming SonomaComa1999 the commenter of the night due to the sheer volume of comments he produced (66 in fact).

Fangraphs:

For the D-Backs, Zack Greinke posted a 20% WPA, with Nick Ahmed and A.J. Pollock posting WPA’s of 13.3% and 12% respectively.

The Dodgers were a different story with only Yasmani Grandal posting a positive WPA (15.5%). Ross Stripling led the way with a -18% WPA. While Cody Bellinger and Kike Hernandez posted WPA’s of -12.4% and -10.6% respectively.

This is the second Monday recap I’ve done this season, and both have involved the Los Angeles Dodgers. Through the extra inning extravaganza and this game tonight, I think I can gladly state that this Dodger team is drastically worse. The Dodgers lineup was a mix of hyped up prospects and no-namers (sorry Max Muncy). With the news of Corey Seager’s season ending injury and Cody Bellinger’s apparent beef with Dave Roberts, this Dodgers team looks defeated.

#BeatLA

[Torey Lovullo just said in the post-game press conference that the X-rays on Peralta’s hand were negative, and he’s day-to-day. That’s a huge bullet Arizona appears to have dodged, but I imagine he will not be in the lineup tomorrow. That’s one hella painful way of getting out of facing Clayton Kershaw!]