The Dodgers picked up right where they left off before the break, beating the Diamondbacks 6-4 at Chase Field on Friday night to win their fifth straight game. Matt Kemp got back his power stroke, homering and driving in four runs, and Juan Rivera hit the first pitch he saw in a Dodgers uniform over the left field wall. Clayton Kershaw didn't allow a run until the seventh inning, and the bullpen came on to preserve the victory.
Rivera lined a pitch from former Angels teammate Joe Saunders in the second inning over the left field wall to give the Dodgers a 1-0 win. Kemp, who hadn't homered in 12 games and 50 plate appearances, and finished last place in Monday's Home Run Derby at Chase Field, ended his power drought with a ball over the bullpen in left field, a two-run home run giving the Dodgers a 4-0 lead in the sixth inning. Kemp delivered a two-run single one inning later.
The Dodgers had allowed just one total run in their previous four games, and Friday night looked like more of the same under Clayton Kershaw. He didn't allow a run until the seventh inning, when Arizona took advantage of a Juan Uribe miscue to extend the inning. Xavier Nady hit a three-run home run off Kershaw to cut the lead to 6-4. Mike MacDougal, Hong-Chih Kuo, and Javy Guerra recorded the final six outs to close out the win.
SB Nation Arizona captured the postgame reaction from the other side, including Diamondbacks' manager Kirk Gibson unhappy with the team's sloppy play and poor middle relief. The Dodgers have won 10 of their last 14 games in Arizona.
For more news and information on the Dodgers, or on tonight's game, be sure to read the SB Nation blog True Blue LA.