Dodgers Complete Improbable Comeback With Four-Run Bottom of the Ninth, Sweep D-Backs, 5-4

Call them the comeback kids. 

The Dodgers scored four runs before they recorded an out in the bottom of the ninth and Los Angeles completed the most improbable of sweeps over the Arizona Diamondbacks, 5-4, on Thursday night at Dodger Stadium.

Arizona closer Fernando Rodney was a giant can of gas on the mound just waiting to explode as he entered the game in the bottom of the ninth. The D-backs closer walked four in the inning before allowing a two-run single to Corey Seager that tied the game 4-4. 

"I had some at-bats against him in the past luckily, so I kind of knew what it was like," said Seager of his at-bat against Rodney. "He was struggling. He couldn't find the zone, and that's hard for a closer when you can't throw strikes."

Rodney was removed for T.J. McFarland who allowed a line drive to left field on the first pitch to Chris Taylor and the Dodgers completed the stunning walk-off victory over the Snakes. 

MOMENT AFTER MOMENT.
MEMORY AFTER MEMORY.
THE #DODGERS HAVE DONE IT AGAIN.

💯 pic.twitter.com/LcLblXWRDo— Los Angeles Dodgers (@Dodgers) July 7, 2017

The game-winning hit was the first of Taylor's career as the Virginia native collected a career-high four hits, finishing 4-for-5 with two doubles and prompting the the Fox Sports Arizona Twitter account to publish this tweet:

Really getting sick of the Chris Taylor character. pic.twitter.com/96oy14IYUJ— FOX Sports Arizona (@FOXSPORTSAZ) July 7, 2017

"It feels like we're never out of the game," Taylor said of the team's comeback. "It seems like we're out of it and we put one good at-bat together at a time, we get some guys on and then good things happen."

Before the dramatic finish in the ninth, the first four runs of the game came via the solo home run. 

Jake Lamb hit a pair of solo shots, and Ketel Marte and Logan Forsythe each hit one as the Diamondbacks led 3-1 heading into the ninth inning. 

Lamb started the scoring when he crushed a 73 MPH curveball from Rich Hill 435-feet down the left field line in the top of the fifth inning to give the Diamondbacks a 1-0 lead.

Jake Lamb smashes a solo home run to deep right field to give the D-backs a 1-0 lead in the top of the 5th inning!!! #OurSeason pic.twitter.com/PX9AGt9mfl— TheRenderMLB (@TheRenderMLB) July 7, 2017

That lead was short-lived as Logan Forsythe tied the game with a solo shot of his own on an 83 MPH slider from Robbie Ray in the bottom half of the inning.

Logan Forsythe lines a solo home run to center field to tie the game at 1 in the bottom of the 5th inning!!! #LetsGoDodgers pic.twitter.com/slpabl3wT0— TheRenderMLB (@TheRenderMLB) July 7, 2017

Forsythe has been on fire over the last two weeks, reaching base safely in 10 of his last 11 games, and batting .405 with 14 runs, four doubles, one homer and three RBI over that span.

Other than the home runs, both southpaw starters pitched well despite either not factoring in the decision.

Ray allowed one run on five hits with four walks and a career-high 13 strikeouts in six strong innings as he made his final start before the All-Star Game. Ray was selected as an All-Star for the Midsummer Classic for the first time in his career on Sunday.

"Butcher [Pitching coach] told me to work my magic, so I came at it with my best stuff and came out on top," said Ray of his performance. "Anytime you can shut up that many fans is great."

Hill was equally as good, allowing just one run on two hits with no walks and nine strikeouts over seven innings for the Dodgers.

Hill has pitched at least seven innings with no walks and nine strikeouts in each of his last three starts, a feat he was unable to do in any of his first nine starts this season. In fact, Hill had not pitched out of the fifth inning until June 26^th against the Angels.

"The ball is coming out of my hand the way I want it to," said Hill of his turnaround the last few starts. "Finding my mechanics was the biggest thing. When you can find the consistency in those mechanics you're able to execute a lot more efficiently in the zone."

The Dodgers went to the bullpen in the eighth inning and immediately got blown up as Lamb and Marte absolutely crushed balls from Luis Avilan to break the tie.

Jake Lamb cracks his second home run of the game to right-center field to give the D-backs a 2-1 lead in the top of the 8th inning!!! pic.twitter.com/Yp1SWUfp7U— TheRenderMLB (@TheRenderMLB) July 7, 2017

Lamb started the inning with a 415-foot shot off Avilan and two batters later, it was Marte with a 440-foot bomb that nearly left the stadium entirely.

Ketel Marte rocks his first home run of the year to very deep left field to double the D-backs' lead to 3-1 in the top of the 8th inning!!! pic.twitter.com/XD16ADc13L— TheRenderMLB (@TheRenderMLB) July 7, 2017

Dodgers' relief pitcher Josh Fields brought home a run on a balk in the ninth inning that ended the streak of solo home runs in the game. 

But just as fans in attendance started heading for the parking lot, the Dodgers continued their fairytale season with a four-run bottom of the ninth, capping off the comeback with CT3's thrilling walk-off hit.

"It was incredible," said Hill of the comeback. "I saw some people leaving the ballpark. You gotta stay. If you're going to watch these games you have to stay, it's a lot of fun."

It was the fifth walk-off victory for the Dodgers this season and their 22nd comeback of the year. 

Meanwhile, thanks to Rodney, the Diamondbacks were swept for the first time this season and fall 5.5 games behind the Dodgers for first place in the Natioinal League West. 

"It's certainly a tough loss to absorb. It will probably stick with us for the next couple of hours," said Arizona manager, Torey Lovullo. "But we have to find a way to turn the page and figure out what happened."

Los Angeles has an MLB-best nine sweeps on the season. 

Up Next: 

Former Cubs starter, Jason Hammel heads to the mound on Friday opposite Kenta Maeda as the Dodgers open up the final three-game series of the first half against the Kansas City Royals at 7:10PM PST.