LOS ANGELES – The Arizona Diamondbacks were dominant in game one of the National League Division Series , defeating the second-seed Los Angeles Dodgers 11-2.
The Diamondbacks started off the game strong at the top of the first inning with six runs off of six hits, including a three-run homer from Gabriel Moreno.
Dodgers starting pitcher Clayton Kershaw didn’t last long on the mound, becoming the first pitcher in postseason history to allow five or more runs before recording an out. After getting pulled in the middle of the inning, Evan Sheehan stepped in to try and contain the Diamondbacks offense. Sheehan quickly ended the top of the first after recording two outs off of a groundout and a strikeout.
The Dodgers failed to respond in the bottom of the first inning and the Diamondbacks picked up right where they left off. In the top of the second inning, the Diamondbacks added three more runs to their total including Corbin Carrol hitting his second homerun of the postseason. With Arizona cruising comfortably with a 9-0 lead after the second inning, the Dodgers had no answer.
Both the Dodgers and the Diamondbacks were held scoreless for the next four innings. In the top of the seventh inning, the Diamondbacks added another run to their run total after Alek Thomas blasted his second homerun of the postseason. After the seventh inning, the Diamondbacks were leading the Dodgers 10-0, and it wasn’t long before the Diamondbacks got back on the offense. In the top of the eighth inning, Tommy Pham added another run to the Diamondbacks’ total after with his first homerun this postseason.
With the Diamondbacks leading 11-0 heading into the bottom of the eighth, the Dodgers finally responded. Dodgers catcher Will Smith scored two runs with an RBI triple, butit was too late for the Dodgers to close the gap as the Diamondbacks pulled away with the game 11-2.
With a day to rest, the Diamondbacks look to continue their offensive and pitching success heading into game two. The Diamondbacks are likely to start Zac Gallen, who has been one of the top pitchers in their rotation. During the wild card series against the Milwaukee Brewers, Gallen started game two, pitching six innings and only allowing two runs. Gallen has had some success pitching against the Dodgers this season, keeping the Dodgers offense to a .233 batting average.
Out of the nine Diamondback hitters in the starting lineup, eight of them recorded at least one hit, including Pham who went four for five in game one. The Diamondbacks only struck out nine times out of a team total 39 at-bats, and scored 11 runs off 13 hits.
On the other hand, the Dodgers need to figure things out in order to even the series out in game two. The Dodgers are likely to start Bobby Miller, hoping to utilize his pitching repertoire in order to preserve the Dodgers bullpen. Miller has not pitched since Oct. 1 and is likely to make his playoff debut in game two. The MLB postseason rules cut each team’s rosters to 26 players, so managing the subsitions becomes a problem. Out of the 13 pitchers on the Dodgers playoff roster, Dodgers manager Dave Roberts used six of those pitchers during game one.
The team also looks for the offense to pick it up after only having four hits throughout game one. Out of the nine starting Dodger hitters, only three players recorded at least one hit. Dodgers top hitters Mookie Betts, Freddie Freeman and J.D. Martinez failed to record a single hit in game one.
With both teams set to battle it out again, game two of the NLDS series starts at 6:07 p.m. on Monday.