The Dodgers offense did a little bit of everything to back a strong start by Jack Flaherty, including two home runs by a well-rested Freddie Freeman to beat the Diamondbacks 11-6 on Sunday afternoon at Chase Field in Phoenix.
With the win, the Dodgers now lead Arizona by six games and clinched the season series over the D-backs by winning seven of 13. Should the two teams end the season with the same record, Los Angeles has the tiebreaker. But Arizona is now in third place in the division. The second-place Padres, winners on Monday in San Diego, trail the Dodgers by five games.
Freeman hit a two-run home run in a three-run third inning, his third home run during this series after sitting all three games against the Orioles last week to rest his broken finger.
He added a two-run shot in the eighth inning, giving Freeman five RBI in the game and 10 RBI in the four-game series.
Teoscar Hernández tied his career high with five hits, including a triple and double. It’s the third five-hit game for Hernández, who also did so in 2021 with the Blue Jays and 2023 with the Mariners.
Shohei Ohtani stole three bases for the second time this season, giving him 44 home runs and 46 stolen bases on the season as he closes in on 50-50.
Will Smith had a two-run single, part of a two-hit game and a hard-hit weekend that could portend a return to form at the plate for the All-Star catcher. As it was, Smith had five hits in 13 at-bats in his three starts in Phoenix, and drove in five runs.
Mookie Betts drove in three with a run-scoring single and a two-run double, the latter coming in a five-run eighth inning that saw the Dodgers get six hits and a walk with two outs during the frame.
Flaherty limited the highest-scoring offense in baseball to just one run while pitching into sixth inning. His fastball was his best weapon, finishing off five of his seven strikeouts on that pitch. Of his 12 swinging strikes, eight came on the fastball.
Two walks in the sixth inning ended Flaherty’s day with two outs in the sixth, giving him a season-high three walks in the game. Flaherty has flirted with six innings in all but one start since joining the Dodgers. He completed six twice, and Sunday was his third outing of 5... innings with his hometown team.
Things could have been much more precarious in his final inning, but Will Smith erased Jake McCarthy at second base trying to steal after a single. Alex Vesia prevented any damage after Flaherty left by striking out Adrian Castillo in four pitches.
As it was, Flaherty’s 5⅔ innings was the longest start by a Dodgers pitcher since Flaherty last Tuesday pitching six innings against Baltimore.
In the five games in between, the actual bullpen had to throw 22 innings. Sunday’s burden was 10 outs, but after Vesia’s one batter, the smallest lead a Dodgers reliever pitched with was three runs.
Left, behind
The Dodgers’ performance against left-handed pitchers has varied this season. Entering Sunday the splits for the year were barely visible, with a 115 wRC+ against southpaws and 114 wRC+ against right-handers.
With a more complete position-player roster for the last few weeks, the team has more options to maneuver. On Sunday that meant Max Muncy and Gavin Lux sitting at the start against Arizona left-hander Eduardo Rodríguez. One of the substitutes, second baseman Chris Taylor, doubled and scored the first run in the fifth, part of a two-hit game.
After a recent stretch of 10 straight games against right-handed starters, the Dodgers have faced five southpaw starters in their last 10 games. Only Jacob Lopez of the Rays last Tuesday completed five innings among those left-handed starters. The Dodgers chased Rodríguez after 92 pitches and four innings on Sunday, with three runs in the bank. That left five innings to cover for an also-tired Arizona bullpen, which helped facilitate the deluge of runs later in the game.
The Dodgers’ 31-14 record in games started by opposing left-handers is second-best in the majors, trailing only the Guardians (28-11).
Labor Day particulars
Home runs: Freddie Freeman 2 (21), Eugenio Suárez (23)
WP — Jack Flaherty (11-6): 5⅔ IP, 5 hits, 1 run, 3 walks, 7 strikeouts
LP — Eduardo Rodríguez (2-1): 4 IP, 7 hits, 3 runs, 2 walks, 1 strikeout
Up next
The Dodgers are back home-adjacent with two games against the Angels beginning Tuesday night (6:38 p.m.; SportsNet LA, Bally Sports West, MLB Network) in Anaheim. Walker Buehler starts the opener for the Dodgers, facing left-hander Reid Detmers, who was called back up with September roster expansion after three months in Triple-A.
