Post-Brawl Dodgers Are Bitten By D-Backs in 3-0 Loss

Dodgers 0 6 0

Diamondbacks 3 6 0

WP- Corbin (2-0)

LP- Kershaw (2-1)

S- Putz (2)

After a shocking brawl the night before, the Dodgers headed out to Arizona without their injured ace Zack Greinke. We learned the heartbreaking news Friday afternoon that Greinke would undergo surgery to insert a rod in his collarbone, and he would be out for about eight weeks. There’s been plenty of discussion regarding the incident on Thursday night between Greinke and San Diegan goon Carlos Quentin. Some argue that Greinke incited the big thug and somehow was partly responsible for the melee. While I don’t think Greinke did anything wrong other than to stand his ground and essentially brace for impact, I can’t get past the fact that Quentin seriously injured one of the best pitchers in the game and only got a mere eight-game suspension. Sure, Greinke yelled out an expletive toward the raging bull, but does that justify Quentin’s animalistic attack?

Jerry Hairston Jr. also was suspended for one game, and both Hairston and Quentin are appealing their suspensions. It is unclear whether Quentin will be playing at Dodger Stadium come Monday.

Patrick Cobin gets the win to shut out the Dodgers at Chase Field. Photo: Matt Kartozian-USA TODAY Sports

The Dodgers, while still angry and reeling from the fight, had to pack up and head to Arizona to take on the always tough D-backs for a three-game set. Clayton Kershaw pitched well other than some trouble in the bottom of the eighth inning when he was tiring. He picked up his 999th career strikeout, yet the Dodger offense fell flat again and couldn’t muster up any runs in the shutout loss.

Mark Ellis sketchily gets hit by a pitch on his foot by lefty Patrick Corbin in the first inning. There’s no mound charging or cussing involved, and Ellis takes first quietly. Adrian Gonzalez strikes out on a big curveball to end the inning.

Clayton Kershaw strikes out two snakes (Gerardo Parra and Paul Goldschmidt) in the bottom half of the first.

Corbin counters with two strikeouts of his own by getting last night’s hero Juan Uribe and Andre Ethier to whiff. A.J. Ellis smacks a double over Parra’s head.  Justin Sellers hits a deep fly ball, but Parra is able to catch up to it this time for the third out.

Kershaw retires the D-backs 1-2-3 in the bottom of the second, and he picks up another K by striking out Miguel Montero.

Mark Ellis singles in the third inning, but the Dodger bats can’t do much else.

Clayton Kershaw is one strikeout away from his 1,000th of his career. Photo: Matt Kartozian-USA TODAY Sports

Kershaw is on a roll, and he strikes out Cliff Pennington and Patrick Corbin in the bottom of the third. A.J. Pollack grounds out to end the frame.

A sole Sellers single rounds out the fourth inning for the Dodgers, but the D-backs strike in the home half of the inning. Pesky Parra and Martin Prado hit back-to-back singles. Goldschmidt hits into a double play allowing Parra to score and plate a run. 1-0 Arizona.

Patrick Corbin ends up pitching 6 scoreless innings, allowing just 3 hits, striking out 4, and walking 3 on 106 pitches.

Brad Ziegler comes out of the Arizona pen to relieve Corbin for the seventh inning. Clayton Kershaw singles, for the second Dodger hit of the evening, but that is all the “offense” can do.

Kershaw is still going strong into the bottom of the seventh, and he strikes out another two Snakes in the frame (Alfredo Marte and Josh Wilson).

David Hernandez will pitch the eighth inning for the D-backs. The Dodgers squander away another scoring opportunity. Matt Kemp singles with one-out. Adrian Gonzalez draws a walk, and there is a wild pitch which allows Kemp to move to third. Carl Crawford, who was benched even though he is the hottest hitter in the league at the moment, ends up striking out as a pinch-hitter. Andre Ethier grounds into the third out, and the Dodgers strand more runners.

The bottom of the eighth solidifies the win for Arizona. Jason Kubel and A.J. Pollack hit consecutive singles with one out against a tiring Kershaw. Parra walks to load the bases up. For some reason, Don Mattingly brings in freshly called up pitcher Shawn Tolleson. Tolleson was called up today to replace the disabled Greinke. Putting Tolleson into a one-run game in the bottom of the eighth inning with the bases loaded doesn’t seem like the best idea, right? He promptly walks Prado which brings in a run for Arizona. Then another walk to Goldschmidt brings in Arizona’s third run. Tolleson has to be yanked, and the Dodgers bring in lefty J.P. Howell. Howell strikes out Montero, and Marte lines out to end the inning.

Kershaw pitched 7 1/3 innings, allowing 3 runs on 6 hits while striking out 9 and walking 3 on 111 pitches

It really doesn’t matter that Tolleson walked in two runs since the Dodger offense is nonexistent. J.J. Putz comes in to pitch the ninth and close it out for AZ. A.J. Ellis strikes out. Nick Punto singles, and Skip Schumaker walks. We know that this is just too little too late. Jerry Hairston Jr. grounds into a double play to end the game. Is it just me or has JHair looked really bad at the plate ever since Spring Training?

Kershaw picks up the hard-luck loss as the Dodgers drop game one at Chase Field. Tomorrow Hyun-jin Ryu will make his first road start against Arizona’s Ian Kennedy in a 5:10 p.m. game.

Can the Dodger offense wake up? Will the loss of Greinke affect morale? We still have a long season to go.