Dodgers 4, D’backs 3: Bellinger and Joc save the day

Photo: Stacie Wheeler

The Dodgers were on the verge of dropping the fourth game of a 4-game series against the Diamondbacks before Cody Bellinger‘s 9th-inning home run tied the game and Joc Pederson‘s 11th-inning homer won things.

And Joc’s was a massive dong.

Huge.

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David Freese got things started in the first inning by launching a home run off D’backs’ starter Alex Young. Russell Martin added his fifth homer of the season in the third inning to give the Dodgers a 2-0 lead.

After three scoreless innings from Ross Stripling, Dustin May came in and immediately found himself in trouble, but that was the least of his concerns.

Thankfully, it seems like he’s OK.

Things were pretty quiet until the ninth, when Bellinger — as mentioned in the lede — tied the game by homering off mustacheless Andrew Chafin.

After Joc’s pop in the top of the 11th, Pedro Baez got the ball in the bottom half. He struck out Tim Locastro and got Arizona’s two best hitters — Ketel Marte and Eduardo Escobar — to make outs to end the game. It was Baez’s first career save, if you can believe that.

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The Dodgers move to 89-50 on the season. Their lead in the NL West is 18 games and their magic number is down to 7. They return to Los Angeles on Labor Day to face the struggling Rockies. Walker Buehler (3.03 ERA, 2.83 FIP) takes on Peter Lambert (6.63 ERA, 5.93 FIP). First pitch is scheduled for 5:10 p.m. Pacific time, which means only one thing … SHADOWS! BFD.

It’ll also be Gavin Lux‘s MLB debut.

Giddy up.

About Dustin Nosler

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Dustin Nosler began writing about the Dodgers in July 2009 at his blog, Feelin' Kinda Blue. He co-hosted a weekly podcast with Jared Massey called Dugout Blues. He was a contributor/editor at The Hardball Times and True Blue LA. He graduated from California State University, Sacramento, with his bachelor’s degree in journalism and a minor in digital media. While at CSUS, he worked for the student-run newspaper The State Hornet for three years, culminating with a 1-year term as editor-in-chief. He resides in Stockton, Calif.