Red-hot Freddie Freeman went 3-for-5 with a run-scoring double and Julio Urias pitched six shutout innings to help the Los Angeles Dodgers notch a 5-4 victory over the Arizona Diamondbacks on Tuesday night at Phoenix.
Mookie Betts had two hits and two RBIs and Enrique Hernandez added an RBI double as Los Angeles won for the seventh time in its past eight games.
Urias (9-6) struck out five and allowed four hits and one walk as the Dodgers won the opener of a two-game series. Urias improved to 9-1 all-time against Arizona.
The Diamondbacks made it close with two runs in the eighth inning and two more in the ninth, but Evan Phillips enticed Arizona star Corbin Carroll to bounce into a game-ending double play to post his 15th save of the season.
Christian Walker had two hits for the slumping Diamondbacks, who have lost seven straight games and 23 of their past 30. Arizona has scored 15 runs during the season-worst seven-game slide.
Freeman has eight multi-hit outings over his last 11 games while raising his average to .343.
Down 4-0 in the eighth inning, the Diamondbacks tried to mount their comeback.
Carson Kelly led off the inning with a walked against Alex Vesia and Carroll hit a one-out single. Brusdar Graterol entered and Tommy Pham and Walker both greeted him with RBI singles as the Diamondbacks pulled within 4-2.
Betts delivered an RBI single in the ninth to make it a three-run margin.
Alek Thomas hit a one-out RBI triple off Phillips in the ninth and Ketel Marte followed with an RBI single to pull Arizona within one.
Carroll then hit a bouncer to Freeman at first but didn’t immediately run as he was unsure if the ball would be ruled fair or foul. Freeman turned and threw to second base then took the return throw at first and the Dodgers easily turned the double play.
Rookie right-hander Brandon Pfaadt (0-6) gave up four runs and six hits in 4 2/3 innings for Arizona. He struck out five and walked two and is winless in 10 major league starts.
Los Angeles jumped ahead in the second inning when David Peralta led off with a single and scored on Hernandez’s double to left-center.
The Dodgers pushed across three more runs in the fifth.
Betts capped off an 11-pitch at-bat against Pfaadt with an RBI double to left-center. Freeman followed by squirting a grounder inside the third base bag for another RBI double.
Will Smith’s single moved Freeman to third before Max Muncy hit a sacrifice fly to left to make it 4-0.
–Field Level Media
