The Diamondbacks pummeled the Dodgers 12-4 at Dodger Stadium, winning in Cristian Mena’s major league debut. Arizona racked out 16 hits, including nine extra-base hits. Christian Walker led the charge with another strong night at the plate in Dodger Stadium, going 4-for-5 with a double and two home runs.
Thank you for reading this post, don't forget to subscribe!It marked just the second time they came back to win a game this season when trailing by two or more runs. The Diamondbacks trailed 4-1 after the first inning, as Mena struggled early, but continued to apply pressure on Dodgers starter Gavin Stone. From the very first batter of the game, Stone was in for a tough night as Arizona continued to make him grind through three innings. The right-handed needed 77 pitches to get through three innings and was pulled after that.
They finally got to Stone in the third. Following a leadoff single by Walker, it looked like Diamondbacks would let an opportunity go by. However, Eugenio Suárez blooped in a fly ball down the left field line to score Jake McCarthy from first. Gabriel Moreno then drove a center-cut fastball out to right center to tie the game.
Gabriel Moreno’s bat is starting to come alive again. When he’s on, he’s barreling balls to RCF like that.#Dbacks 4, Dodgers 4, Top 3rd pic.twitter.com/QgiwuP3pi4
— Burn City D-backs Talk????️ (@BurnCityDbacks) July 4, 2024
The Dodgers threatened again in the bottom half of the third inning. Mena walked Freddie Freeman and Andy Pages, followed by a balk to put the go-ahead run at third. McCarthy charged in to catch a liner from Miguel Rojas, and with his momentum going in the right direction unleashed an accurate, one-hop throw to nail Freeman at home plate.
#Dodgers try to score in the 3rd, but Jake McCarthy guns down Freddie Freeman at home.
Still a 4-4 game.
pic.twitter.com/CoiCPDrFus— Burn City D-backs Talk????️ (@BurnCityDbacks) July 4, 2024
“It was actually a pretty ideal ball for coming through it, it was a line drive about 10 feet in front of me,” McCarthy told Diamondbacks reporter Todd Walsh in the postgame coverage of Dbacks TV. “I don’t have the strongest arm, but I just tried to backspin it to my cutoff. Good hop and it was pretty shallow too, so I was glad I could pick up my boy.”
That ended up a huge play in the game, as the Diamondbacks took the lead the following inning on Walker’s first home run of the game and never looked back.
As Arizona continued to pile on runs against the Dodgers bullpen, their own bullpen shut the door. Diamondbacks relievers combined for six scoreless innings, allowing just two hits the rest of the way. Lourdes Gurriel Jr. and Walker added home runs to cap the night on offense.
Walker continues to turn Dodger Stadium into his personal Home Run Derby park, with his two home runs on the night pushing his career total to 17 in 42 career games. Talking to Walsh in the postgame coverage on Dbacks TV, this is what Walker had to say about hitting there.
“It’s a cool place to play. I enjoy playing here, I enjoy the energy. I don’t know if it’s a play to your competition type thing. It’s nice to get rewarded. Chase [Field] is a big park, you got to hit balls really hard to get them out. It’s nice to put a good swing, hit a ball hard in the air, and get rewarded.”
Mena made his major league debut, and it could not have started any worse. The first five Dodgers reached base, including back-to-back home runs from Freeman and Teoscar Hernández that put Los Angeles up 4-1. Following a base hit by Andy Pages, Mena retired the next six batters and didn’t allow any more runs to settle down the game. Having to pitch in one of the most intimidating environments you can put a 21-year-old in, he salvaged the start enough for the offense to win the game.
The Diamondbacks will have a chance to win the series with their ace on the mound. Zac Gallen (6-4, 2.83 ERA) will go for Arizona while the Dodgers will send out rookie right-hander Landon Knack (1-1, 2.08 ERA). First pitch at Dodger Stadium will be at 6:10 P.M. MST.
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Michael McDermott covers the Arizona Diamondbacks and more for Burn City Sports. You can follow him on X via @MichaelMcDMLB
