Joc Pederson smashed a three-run home run for his 500th career RBI, while Christian Walker also hit a homer as the Arizona Diamondbacks defeated the Los Angeles Dodgers 7-3 on Tuesday night. The Dodgers saw their four-game winning streak at home come to an end as they were out-hit by the Diamondbacks, 12-6.
Every player in the D-backs’ starting lineup managed to get at least one hit as they secured their first victory at Dodger Stadium since April 2, 2023.
“That’s who we want to be — never giving up. If you give us a chance, give us a breath, we’re going to bring a run across,” said Walker.
Arizona’s Brandon Pfaadt (2-3) held the Dodgers hitless until the fourth inning when Shohei Ohtani doubled to lead off. The Japanese superstar stole third base, tearing his pants in the process, and then scored on catcher Gabriel Moreno’s throw that went into left field. This unearned run narrowed the Dodgers’ lead to 2-1.
“Never backed down, went right at them,” Walker commented on Pfaadt’s performance.
The Dodgers closed the gap to 4-3 with two runs in the bottom of the sixth inning. Miguel Vargas doubled to lead off, advanced to third on Mookie Betts’ flyout, and then scored on Ohtani’s RBI single. Ohtani stole second base after Freddie Freeman struck out, and he scored on Will Smith’s RBI double to center field.
Ohtani had a strong game, going 2 for 4 with a strikeout, scoring twice, driving in a run, and stealing two bases. He leads the majors in extra-base hits with 31 and total bases with 127. Betts went hitless in three at-bats with a walk on his bobblehead night.
In the seventh inning, reliever Michael Grove walked Kevin Newman to lead off. After Corbin Carroll struck out, Ketel Marte singled to extend his career-high hitting streak to 20 games — the longest in the majors this season. Pederson then followed with a home run to the right-field pavilion against his former team, extending the Diamondbacks’ lead to 7-3.
Pederson ranks fourth with 76 homers at Dodger Stadium since his big league debut in 2014. “It’s fun hitting homers everywhere,” Pederson said.
