The Los Angeles Dodgers eliminated the Arizona Diamondbacks in the National League Division series on Monday night. The D-backs were swept in their first division series since 2011 after dropping the game 3-1 to Los Angeles.
Zack Greinke
The theme of the Diamondbacks this postseason was early exits for their starters. Tuesday night’s effort from Zack Greinke was the longest outing for the Snakes with five innings. The Dodgers grinded out five walks from Greinke and made him throw 105 pitches in 5+ innings.
Bellinger and Barnes Bombs
If you were a Dodger with Arizona ties, you probably had a good night. Former Hamilton standout and Dodgers first baseman Cody Bellinger, who is the frontrunner for Rookie of the Year, hit a solo home run off of Greinke and former ASU catcher Austin Barnes did the same.
“(Cody) made some big plays for us defensively tonight,” Dodgers manager Dave Roberts said. “In the box, (he) struggled a bit so far in the postseason, but put a good swing on that 3-1 fastball away. It was a big hit for us.”
With Austin, he’s really matured as a Major League player this year. Behind the plate, just the confidence that he’s had, he’s grown to have behind the plate. In the batter’s box, he competes every pitch, hits to all fields.”
Yu Got What Dave Neeedddssss
Another strength Roberts said Barnes possessed was keeping starter Yu Darvish locked in. Over five innings, Darvish gave up just two hits with one solo home run to Daniel Descalso and struck out seven. He threw 72 pitches and gave way to Tony Cingrani, Brandon Morrow, Kenta Maeda and Kenley Jansen, who combined for four innings of no-hit ball.
Snake Rattled Lineup
The potent middle of the Diamondback lineup struggled mightily on Monday night with Paul Goldschmidt, J.D. Martinez, Jake Lamb and A.J. Pollock (hitters 3-6) went 0/13. In the postseason, Goldschmidt hit .091 and Pollock hit .111.
The Diamondbacks were one of the best turnarounds in Major League Baseball this year, and with J.D. Martinez’s impending free agency and plenty of other storylines this offseason, the Diamondbacks will be a constant point of attention over the next few months.
