LOS ANGELES – LOS ANGELES (AP) — Christian Walker hit a home run in the fourth inning and a three-run blast in the ninth — his 16th and 17th career pitches at Dodger Stadium — and the Arizona Diamondbacks overcame a rough start to beat Los Angeles 12-4 on Wednesday night.
Gabriel Moreno and Lourdes Gurriel Jr.. added two-run home runs for Arizona, down 4-1, before Diamondbacks starter Cristian Mena retired a batter in his major league debut.
“A really gutsy performance,” Walker said.
The D-backs were coming off a loss in their series opener on Tuesday.
“This team was not intimidated,” coach Torey Lovullo said. “We started chipping away.”
Freddie Freeman and Teoscar Hernández hit back-to-back home runs in the first for the NL West-leading Dodgers. After four of the first five batters struck out, they had just two more the rest of the game. Arizona had 16 hits.
Walker went 4-for-5, going three short for the cycle, with four RBIs and three runs. With two outs in the fourth, he sent a 3-2 pitch from Ryan Yarbrough (3-2) to left field for a 5-4 lead. Walker hit his 20th home run of the season in the ninth, a shot by Michael Petersen.
“He’s out of this world,” Dodgers manager Dave Roberts said of Walker. “He doesn’t reveal anything. He’s one of the guys I really enjoy watching play.”
Walker has seven home runs in eight games against the Dodgers this season, and his 17 career home runs at Dodger Stadium since 2018 are the most among opposing players. He was homered in four consecutive games in Los Angeles.
“It’s a good place to hit, see the ball well,” Walker said. “A big part of it is the lineup and the protection around me in the lineup, it gives me the freedom to take big shots and try to change the score. It’s useful to talk to the guys a lot.
Bryce Jarvis (1-2) got the win in relief.
Arizona got most of its offense at the bottom of the lineup. Eugenio Suárez, Moreno and Geraldo Perdomo combined for seven hits, including Moreno’s home run in the third.
The Dodgers’ only hits after the first were a double by Miguel Rojas in the sixth and Freeman’s single in the eighth.
Mena allowed a single, walk, back-to-back homers and a single to the top five Dodgers. The 21-year-old right-hander struck out two and walked three in three innings.
“I still have to learn, but this is something important to me – forget about what just happened and focus on the next shift,” Mena said.
Dodgers rookie Gavin Stone gave up four runs and seven hits in three innings, needing 49 pitches in the first two innings. He struck out three and walked three.
TRAINER’S ROOM
Dodgers: LHP Clayton Kershaw (shoulder) was slated to pitch a bullpen on Thursday.
NEXT
Diamondbacks RHP Zac Gallen (6-4, 2.83 ERA) was scheduled to make his second start since coming off the IL in Thursday’s series finale against Dodgers RHP Landon Knack (1-1, 2.08).
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