​LOS ANGELES (AP) — James McCann powered the Diamondbacks with his first two homers of the season, delivering four RBIs as Arizona defeated the Los Angeles Dodgers 9-2 on Saturday night. McCann’s big night included a pivotal three-run homer in a five-run sixth inning, helping Arizona surge past a Dodgers club that had just begun to settle in after an early deficit. The Diamondbacks have now won four of their last nine meetings with Los Angeles.
Brandon Pfaadt continued his strong return to the rotation, earning his third win in as many starts since coming back. He limited the Dodgers to two runs on six hits across five and one-third innings, issuing no walks. His efficiency and command helped keep Arizona in front as the offense piled on.
Los Angeles briefly found a counterpunch in the middle innings, with Andy Pages and Mookie Betts delivering RBI singles to trim the gap at various points. Yet the Dodgers couldn’t sustain the rally, and a rough night for Yoshinobu Yamamoto continued a tough run. Yamamoto (9-6) matched a career high by yielding six runs on five hits and four walks over six innings, contributing to a defeat that left Los Angeles with back-to-back home losses for just the second time since May 13.
In a pregame note, Dodgers manager Dave Roberts announced that Yamamoto would not pitch in Tuesday’s All-Star Game in Philadelphia, and Shohei Ohtani would also not participate in that exhibition.
Arizona took an early 1-0 lead in the fourth when Tim Tawa grounded into a double play that brought in a run due to a productive groundout, then extended its advantage in the sixth. Max Kepler’s sacrifice fly and Tawa’s RBI single pushed the lead to 3-0 before McCann cleared the bases with his three-run shot following an intentional walk to Nolan Arenado.
The Dodgers did manage to get runners across in the sixth on Pages’ and Betts’ run-scoring hits, but the damage had already been done. Arizona lengthened its margin in the seventh on another sacrifice fly from Kepler, and Arenado and McCann hit back-to-back homers in the eighth to cap a seven-run difference and seal the win for the Diamondbacks.
Arizona also dealt with an injury blow in the fifth when center fielder Tommy Troy exited with a right shoulder contusion after colliding with the wall while tracking a Teoscar Hernández fly ball.
Looking ahead, Diamondbacks left-handed pitcher Mitch Bratt is scheduled to make his second career start on Sunday, facing Dodgers right-hander Emmet Sheehan. Bratt came into the game with a 0-0 record and a 3.00 ERA for the season, while Sheehan owns a 4-6 record with a 4.91 ERA.
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