LOS ANGELES ― Jason Heyward deposited a souvenir in the right-field bleachers at Dodger Stadium, 399 feet from home plate. He circled the bases, then offered a different greeting to each of the three teammates standing between him and the dugout: David Peralta, James Outman and Kiké Hernandez.
The Dodgers (81-49) are entering the stage of the regular season where they can get creative with their handshakes, hugs, high-fives, and other methods of celebration. The Arizona Diamondbacks are not. Their ace, Zac Gallen, was tasked with holding a one-run lead into the sixth inning on Monday night. Heyward’s two-run home run, followed by a solo shot by Outman into the right field pavilion, turned the tables.
The back-to-back homers allowed the Dodgers to begin a seven-game homestand with a 7-4 victory over the Diamondbacks. It also gave them even more separation from Arizona (69-63), the second-place team in the National League West. The 13-game gap is the largest between the top two teams in any of MLB’s six divisions.
Freddie Freeman and Max Muncy also homered before an announced crowd of 36,521 at Dodger Stadium. Bobby Miller (8-3) endured a rough fourth inning but hung around long enough to pick up the win.
On the same day when he was crowned National League Player of the Week, Dodgers second baseman Mookie Betts saw his 15-game hitting streak end. He had no shortage of help sparking the Dodgers’ offense.
Smith, Muncy, Heyward and Outman had two hits apiece. Freeman’s 24th home run of the season, and Muncy’s 31st, staked Miller to a 3-0 lead after one inning.
The lead evaporated in the fourth inning, when Miller issued a one-out walk, followed by four straight hits. The loudest of the four, a home run by Gabriel Moreno, gave Arizona a 4-3 lead. No relievers began warming up for the Dodgers, however, and Miller finished the inning by striking out Ketel Marte.
That was the first of seven consecutive batters retired by Miller, who finished with four strikeouts in all.
The Dodgers had not seen Gallen since Opening Day, when they pummeled him for five runs (all earned) in 4⅔ innings. Over his next 26 starts, Gallen went 14-4 with a 2.92 ERA, putting him on a short list of contenders for the NL Cy Young Award.
Monday, Gallen looked mortal again. He allowed six runs (all earned) in 5⅓ innings. Outman tacked on an insurance run with an RBI single against right-hander Bryce Jarvis in the seventh inning.
More to come on this story.
(Except for the headline, this story has not been edited by PostX News and is published from a syndicated feed.)
