PHOENIX (AP) - The Arizona Diamondbacks roughed up a pitcher who almost threw a no-hitter last time out, then had to hold on as the best team in baseball rallied.
To finish it off, despite some tense moments from their closer, was a good sign that the Diamondbacks are back to playing the way they did early in the season.
A.J. Pollock hit a two-run homer and Arizona roughed up Rich Hill in his follow-up to a near no-hitter for a 7-6 win over the Los Angeles Dodgers on Tuesday night.
“They are the runaway team in major league baseball and they were coming after us with everything they had, and we held on,” Diamondbacks manager Torey Lovullo said. “Those are the team moments that push you on to the next day.”
Hill (9-6) pitched nine hitless innings against Pittsburgh on Wednesday, losing the no-hitter and the game on Josh Harrison’s walk-off homer in the 10th.
The Diamondbacks scored 11 runs to complete a three-game sweep of San Francisco on Sunday and kept hitting after a day off, knocking around Hill in a five-run first inning. He allowed six runs on eight hits in 3 1/3 innings, his shortest outing since April 16.
“Everybody did what they were supposed to do,” Hill said. “We hit the ball. We played good defense, and I was terrible.”
Paul Goldschmidt homered and Brandon Drury hit a two-run double off Hill for Arizona.
The wild card-leading Diamondbacks have won five straight, though this one came with some ninth-inning drama.
Fernando Rodney allowed a run-scoring single by Chris Taylor, threw two wild pitches and hit a batter with a pitch to put two on with two outs. With the crowd buzzing, Rodney closed out his 33rd save by getting Yasmani Grandal to ground out to first.
“It’s all we were looking for, compete with the Dodgers,” Rodney said. “They are our enemies in the division.”
Taylor also hit a two-run homer and Yasiel Puig a solo shot off Zack Godley (6-7) for the NL West leaders, who have lost three in a row for the first time since early June.
Los Angeles, which leads the division by 18 games, lost for the first time in 41 games when scoring four or more runs.
“It is a long season,” manager Dave Roberts said. “We played very good baseball for a long time and I am sure we will get on track again.”
Hill was nearly perfect on Wednesday and became the first pitcher in major league history to have a no-hitter end with a walk-off homer.
The left-hander was hit hard from the start by the Diamondbacks, including a line drive by Goldschmidt that drilled him in the left hip in the first.
Godley wasn’t exactly sharp, either, allowing four runs and six hits in six innings.
BRADLEY HITS 100 MPH
Right-hander Archie Bradley was bumped from the rotation when the Diamondbacks acquired Taijuan Walker during the offseason. Bradley has thrived in his role as the setup man for Rodney this year - a 1.22 ERA - and passed a new benchmark by hitting 100 mph on the radar gun for the first time.
“That’s what we expect out of him,” Lovullo said. “It was nice to see and I think the crowd enjoyed it as well.”
TRAINER’S ROOM
Dodgers: SS Corey Seager, who had a 15-game hitting streak, was limited to pinch-hitting duties due to a sore left elbow. He came off the bench in the ninth and grounded out. … 1B-LF Cody Bellinger (ankle) is expected to be activated from the DL on Wednesday.
Diamondbacks: Lovullo would not rule out a return by Nick Ahmed this season even though the shortstop fractured his wrist on the same hand he broke earlier this season. Ahmed was set to return to the Diamondbacks on Tuesday, but broke his wrist Sunday during a rehab game with Triple-A Reno after being struck on the right hand again.
UP NEXT
Dodgers: LHP Hyun-Jin Ryu has gone 3-0 with a 2.13 ERA in nine starts since June 17.
Diamondbacks: LHP Robbie Ray will make his second start since returning from the disabled list after being hit in the head by a line drive. He allowed a run in five innings of a 3-2 win over the New York Mets in his return last week.
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