Claws and Effect: Dodgers Serve up Homers in Blowout Loss to D-Backs

The dogs deserved better.

Paul Goldschmidt and Alex Avila both homered, A.J. Pollock hit two, and Deven Merrero hit a home run that was erased because of a baserunning gaffe, as the Arizona Diamondbacks dominated the Los Angeles Dodgers, 9-1, on Pups at the Park night on Saturday at Dodger Stadium.

The Dodgers got on the board first with a leadoff double by Yasiel Puig in the second inning. One batter later, Joc Pederson hit an RBI single to put L.A. in front 1-0. 

However, the lead would not last long as the Snakes hounded the Dodgers with homers for the next six innings.

Goldschmidt proved his bat was bigger than his bark when he crushed an 89 MPH four-seam fastball from Rich Hill 428-feet into the short porch in left field.

Paul Goldschmidt is heating up, here with a 428’ BOMB #GenerationDbacks pic.twitter.com/PkPkTZoZOk— Around The Bases POD (@AroundBasesPOD) April 15, 2018

Un-fur-tunately, the Dodgers would simply roll over and play dead from there as Hill surrendered a three-run home run to Deven Marrero in the top of the fourth inning.

What happened next however was one of the more weird and wild things you'll ever see:

Deven Marrero clobbers what looks like his first HR with the @Dbacks, but after review is called out for passing Alex Avila on the bases. Marrero is credited with a 2-run single and the #Dbacks lead 5-1 in the fourth. pic.twitter.com/3u1iEvuejn— FOX Sports Arizona (@FOXSPORTSAZ) April 15, 2018

The Dodgers challenged the home run after the play, as on video replay, it appeared that Marrero ran past the runner at first base, Alex Avila. After a lengthy review with officials in New York, the home run was changed to a two-run single, and Marrero was ruled out on the play.

"I haven't seen anything like that before," said Hill who surrendered the home run to Marrero. "I understand the rule, but I wasn't really paying too much attention to when he was running around the bases."

The faux paw cost Marrero his first home run as a Diamondback because of a baserunning blunder.

"That was a terrible read on my part," said Avila of the gaffe. "And probably one of the more embarrassing things I've done on the field. I definitely owe Deven."

Not to be fur-gotten, Arizona centerfielder A.J. Pollock got in on the home run barrage with a two-run blast off Hill in the top of the fifth.

It was a ruff day at the ballpark for Hill (1-1) who allowed seven runs on seven hits with two walks, five strikeouts and two home runs allowed (should have been three), in five short innings.

"The results were terrible," said Hill. "I have to pitch better next time. The biggest thing is we have to continue to put the work in. Get back in here tomorrow and find a way to win." 

Contrary to popular belief, Arizona starter Taijuan Walker was not on a short leash despite leaving the game after two innings. According to D-Backs manager Torey Luvollo, Walker left the game for precautionary reasons with "right forearm tightness."

"I didn't want to push it," said Walker following the game. "I didn't want to go out there and make it any worse. I could have stepped on it and kept going, but I was babying it and I didn't want to do anything dumb."

Pollock and Avila both piled on with solo shots in the 8^th and 9^th innings as the furocius Arizona attack ended in a 9-1 blowout.

The @Dbacks smacked 4 home runs — even if the ball left the yard 5 times — en route to a 9-1 rout and 11th straight regular-season win over the #Dodgers. pic.twitter.com/ISrRHghPMb— FOX Sports Arizona (@FOXSPORTSAZ) April 15, 2018

"It's definitely not panic, it's frustration," said Dodgers' manager Dave Roberts after the loss. "I think the way to sum it up is we have to play better baseball. We have to pitch better. We have to hit better, and the defense has been spotty at times. We have to play better."

The Dodgers have lost 11 consecutive regular season games to the rival Diamondbacks, the longest losing streak to a single team in Los Angeles franchise history.

Needless to say, it was a fur-gettable game for the boys in blue.

Up Next:

Major League Baseball will celebrate Jackie Robinson Day on Sunday as RHP Zack Goldey goes head-to-head with LHP Clayton Kershaw. First pitch is scheduled for 1:10PM PST and all fans in attendance will receive a replica Jackie Robinson jersey.

If you can't view the embedded videos, click "VIEW THE FULL MOBILE SITE"  at the bottom of this page.