Slow Start Leads to Strong Finish as Dodgers Take Series from Snakes 14-3

It started with a backbreaker, but ended with the straw that broke the Diamondbacks back.

Bud Norris left the game after just 13 pitches, leaving Los Angeles with just three healthy starting pitchers, and a three-run deficit, but the Dodgers fought back off the bats of Yasmani Grandal and Corey Seager.

Grandal and Seager each hit a pair of three-run homers to cap off the comeback and the Dodgers rallied from a three-run deficit to steal the rubber match of the series from the Snakes, 14-3, on Sunday afternoon at Dodger Stadium.

"We lost a tough one last night, and we talked about having a chance to win this series and we responded," Dodgers' manager Dave Roberts said. "We had a lot of conviction in our at-bats today."

The matinee performance was marred just minutes into its embarkation when starting pitcher, Bud Norris, reached for his back after a five-pitch leadoff walk to Jean Segura.

Norris stayed in the game to record the first out—a pop up by Michael Bourn—but left immediately after with what the Dodgers described as "muscle tightness" in his lower back area.

"It was my lat muschle, I had it a few years ago," Norris said of the injury. "I was hoping to get through the first half inning and get a massage or roll it out between innings. A guy got on base and you don't want to do anything to make it worse so I feel like they made the right decision."

Rookie Ross Stripling entered the stage from the bullpen and promptly retired eight batters in a row before a comedy of errors allowed Arizona to plate two runs in the fourth inning as the Snakes staked an early 3-0 lead.

"I was in the training room doing my pregame routine and I see him [Norris] tweak something. I asked Libby [Liberatore] if I should go out there [the bullpen] and he said, 'Yes. Run!'" Stripling said of the crazy start to the game. "It happened quick and the next thing you know I was out there on the mound. Technically, I was ready and felt ready, but I've never done that before. I can check that off my baseball bucket list now."

Scott Van Slyke started the string of mistakes when he lost a fly ball in the sun, giving Paul Goldschmidt a stay of execution, and four batters later, Stripling bounced a breaking ball into the dirt that slid underneath Grandal's chest protector and the play was ruled "Cather's Intereference," by home plate umpire Todd Tichenor, advancing Jake Lamb from third and Arizona scored on the play.

"It's even more rare than a triple play. The ball bounced up off my mask and rolled inside my chest protector," Grandal said of the disappearing ball trick. "It was a crazy play. I had never heard of the rule, but the first thing the umpire said to me was, 'Sorry, man.' I had never seen it before."

The Dodgers responded with a three-run flurry in the bottom half of the inning as they loaded the bases with no outs before Howie Kendrick hit a two-out RBI single that scored Enrique Hernandez to tie the game. 

The Boys in Blue broke the game open with a four-run sixth inning off Arizona reliever Dominic Leone. Grandal punctuated the four-spot when he delivered the knockout blow—a three-run home run to centerfield—that gave LA a five-run lead. 

"I knew he had a really good cutter that he likes to throw up and in," Grandal said of his approach with Leone. "I was looking to make contact and thankfully I was able to make contact and hit it deep."

Not to be outdone, rookie Corey Seager belted his first home run since he participated in the Home Run Derby at All-Star Weekend, a three-run jack that shut the door on the D-backs.

"Home run derbys are apparently a curse," Seager joked after the game. "I was doing everything but not hit home runs. It must have really killed my swing."

Joc Pederson crushed a two-run home run deep to right field in a pinch-hit appearance in the eighth inning. Pederson has homered in three consecutive games in the series with Arizona. 

Patrick Corbin (4-10) took the loss for Arizona, allowing six runs, (three earned) on eight hits with six strikeouts in 5 and 1/3 innings.

Yasiel Puig made his first start in nine days amidst trade rumors flying as fast as seagulls in San Francisco. The Cuban slugger finished 3-for-5 with two doubles, two RBI and a run scored in what might be his final game in a Dodger uniform.

"I could be in Colorado, with Colorado, or with the Dodgers," Puig joked to Bill Shaikin of the LA Times. "You never know."

In what was essentially a bullpen game, six different Dodger relievers combined to three-hit the Diamondbacks, with Lou Coleman (2-1) earning the victory.

"Those guys in the pen picked me up today," Norris said of the bullpen's performance. "That was a huge series win for us."

After trailing by a field goal early in the game, the Dodgers scored, putting up 14 unanswered runs on Arizona to take the series and remain two games behind the San Francisco Giants for first place in the NL West.

Players of the Game:

Yasmani Grandal: 3-for-4 with a double, 3-run home run and 3 runs scored.
Corey Seager: 3-for-5 with a three-run home run.
Yasiel Puig: 3-for-5 with two doubles, two RBI and a run scored.

Three Takeaways:

1. The Great Grandal, Magic Superstar: In addition to this three-run home run in the sixth inning that broke the game open, Grandal was involved in a peculiar play that cost the Dodgers a run in the fourth inning. With runners on the corners and two outs, a wild pitch bounced inside the chest protector of catcher Yasmani Grandal. The play was ruled "Catcher's interference," allowing the run from third to score on the play.

Hidden-ball trick. pic.twitter.com/nPe7zFh9qk — MLB GIFS (@MLBGIFs) July 31, 2016 

2. Injury Bug = Trade: Bud Norris' first-inning injury could put even more pressure on the Dodgers' front office to make a move for starting pitching before the Monday 1:00PM PST MLB Trade Deadline. Los Angeles is left with three healthy starting pitchers: Kenta Maeda (who had injury concerns before the season began), Scott Kazmir, and Brandon McCarthy (who is coming off Tommy John surgery). Chris Archer and Matt Moore could come over from Tampa Bay to add reinforcements, but the Rays now have all the leverage and will likely want Julio Urias back in return. Let's see what happens in the next 24 hours…

With Norris injured, #Dodgers currently have 3-man rotation: Kazmir, Maeda, McCarthy. The price for #Rays pitchers just went up. — Bill Shaikin (@BillShaikin) July 31, 2016 

3. Puig's Swan Song? Yasiel Puig started in right field after missing the last nine games with a hamstring injury. Jon Heyman of MLB Insider is reporting that the Dodgers' front office is actively looking to trade the Cuban star before Monday's deadline and Puig put on quite a show in what might be his final game in a Dodger uniform.

word is, dodgers are still trying to move yasiel puig. fielding well this year, but another dropoff in offensive production — Jon Heyman (@JonHeyman) July 31, 2016

Up Next:

Diamondbacks (43-62): Arizona heads back to the desert where they will host the Washington Nationals on Monday night.

Dodgers (59-46): Monday is another off-day for LA as they travel to the Mile-High City for a three-game set with the Rockies.