Christian Walker continued his dominance against the Los Angeles Dodgers with two more home runs, leading the Arizona Diamondbacks to a decisive 12-4 win on Wednesday. Gabriel Moreno and Lourdes Gurriel Jr. also homered in the Diamondbacks’ road victory.
Walker has now hit seven home runs in eight games against the Dodgers this season. On Wednesday, he collected four hits, including a double, and scored three runs as the Diamondbacks rallied from an early three-run deficit.
Arizona right-hander Cristian Mena struggled initially, giving up four runs to the first four batters in his major league debut. However, the Diamondbacks’ bullpen shut down the Dodgers’ offense for the rest of the game.
Freddie Freeman and Teoscar Hernandez hit back-to-back home runs in the first inning, giving the Dodgers a 4-1 lead. Dodgers starter Gavin Stone, who had posted a 1.62 ERA over his previous six starts, allowed four runs on seven hits and three walks in just three innings.
The Diamondbacks took an early 1-0 lead in the first inning with a sacrifice fly from Gurriel. The Dodgers quickly responded with Freeman’s three-run homer and Hernandez’s solo shot.
Arizona evened the score with two outs in the third inning. Eugenio Suarez hit an RBI double, and Moreno followed with a two-run homer. Mena finished his debut allowing four runs on four hits over three innings, with three walks and two strikeouts.
Walker put the Diamondbacks ahead 5-4 in the fourth inning with his first home run of the game off Ryan Yarbrough (3-2). In the fifth, Geraldo Perdomo bunted in a run, and Gurriel hit a two-run homer in the sixth. Suarez added an RBI double in the eighth, extending the lead to 9-4. Walker’s three-run blast in the ninth, his 20th of the season, capped the scoring.
Bryce Jarvis (1-2) earned the win for Arizona, pitching 2 1/3 scoreless innings in relief. The victory improved the Diamondbacks’ record against the Dodgers to 3-2 at Dodger Stadium this season.
