LOS ANGELES — Arizona Diamondbacks manager Torey Lovullo had an idea Monday.
Rather than feed rookie starter Slade Cecconi immediately to the former MVPs at the top of the Dodgers’ lineup, the Diamondbacks started lefty reliever Joe Mantiply – a familiar “opener” strategy in the analytics era – and let him handle the first inning. Cecconi could get his feet under him and maybe sneak up on the Dodgers.
“They haven’t seen Slade,” Lovullo reasoned before the game. “The second time through the order is the first time they’re going to see Slade overall. So hopefully it will give us an advantage.”
Spoiler alert – it didn’t.
Freddie Freeman hit a grand slam, one of three home runs in a six-run third inning against Cecconi that held up for a 6-4 Dodgers victory over the Diamondbacks on Monday night.
Will Smith and Kiké Hernandez also homered in the six-run inning, Hernandez joining Freeman in the first-timers club by taking Cecconi deep in his first at-bat against the former first-round draft pick.
“We hadn’t faced the guy before,” Freeman said. “So it’s a two-seamer, changeup. Kind of a cutter guy against righties, occasional curveballs against lefties. So just trying to get him up (in the zone) and be on the heater. And we were able to do that in that inning.”
Hernandez led off the big inning with his homer. He was the first of six consecutive Dodgers who reached base and scored runs.
Miguel Rojas singled to right field, sending things back to the top of the order. Mookie Betts also shot a single to the opposite field and Shohei Ohtani loaded the bases with a walk, ball four coming on a questionable call by home plate umpire Carlos Torres. Freeman’s sixth career grand slam came on a 2-and-1 fastball at the knees, lifted 415 feet out to center field.
“Just trying to get a pitch to hit,” Freeman said. “But I’m always sitting fastball. I haven’t come off the fastball in 15 years.”
Freeman finished the night batting .298 for the season with an .873 OPS — good numbers for most hitters but Freeman has not been satisfied.
“It feels like I’ve been treading water all year. But when I look at the numbers, they’re okay,” he said. “Just kind of waiting for the really, really hot streak.”
Dodgers manager Dave Roberts said he’s not surprised to hear Freeman’s dissatisfaction.
“I think with Freddie the great thing about him is it’s not always about results,” Roberts said. “Obviously he likes to get hits and drive runs in. But it’s a feel thing too and he just hasn’t really felt good. He can’t consistently take the swing that he wants to take. But to his credit he’s in there fighting every pitch and with that gets rewarded with hits and nights like tonight. That’s more important to me – just the fight I see in him every night.”
Five pitches after Freeman’s slam, Cecconi hung a curveball to Smith and he hit the third home run of the inning. Thoroughly vetted by the Dodgers now, Cecconi retired the final 11 batters he faced in order.
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Given an early cushion, Dodgers starter Yoshinobu Yamamoto rolled through the Diamondbacks’ lineup with little stress. He gave up a one-out double to No. 9 hitter Kevin Newman in the third inning and Joc Pederson drove him in with a two-out single, battling Yamamoto for eight pitches.
The Diamondbacks didn’t get a runner past first base again until the seventh inning when Eugenio Suarez led off with a double. He scored on a one-out single by Newman who had three of the Diamondbacks’ seven hits against Yamamoto.
That one ended Yamamoto’s night. He threw a season-high 100 pitches while going 6⅓ innings and striking out eight.
“He was really good,” Roberts said. “I wanted to get him through that seventh inning. I just felt that where they were at in their lineup I wanted to give them a different look with (leadoff hitter Corbin) Carroll coming up. But he was fantastic. The slider, he used a little bit more. The fastball had life, good command. Got a lot of swing and miss tonight (14) and really had his way with those guys. It was nice to see.”
Elieser Hernandez gave up back-to-back home runs to Lourdes Gurriel Jr. and Jake McCarthy in the eighth inning to make it a close game. But Daniel Hudson closed it out in the ninth.
Freddie Freeman drives them all home with one big swing! pic.twitter.com/ewQUvDbwqj
— MLB (@MLB) May 21, 2024
Freddie Freeman’s 6th career grand slam ignites the @Dodgers crowd! pic.twitter.com/20nnH2krQC
— MLB (@MLB) May 21, 2024
8 strikeouts for Yoshinobu Yamamoto tonight! pic.twitter.com/kM4QDPMxCC
— MLB (@MLB) May 21, 2024
WILL SMITH!
The @Dodgers go back-to-back pic.twitter.com/VhwfC8thvL
— MLB (@MLB) May 21, 2024
Kiké ties it up! pic.twitter.com/RHoCS7ygaT
— Los Angeles Dodgers (@Dodgers) May 21, 2024
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