Zac Gallen turned in one of his sharpest starts of the season. Blaze Alexander provided the decisive swing with a two-run homer, and the Arizona Diamondbacks beat the Los Angeles Dodgers 3-0 on Friday night at Dodger Stadium. The victory snapped Los Angeles’ four-game winning streak while Arizona handed the defending champions their seventh shutout loss of the season.
Despite the defeat, the Dodgers maintained their two-game lead in the National League West after the San Diego Padres lost 7-4 in Minnesota earlier in the evening.
Gallen (10-13) limited one of baseball’s most potent lineups to two hits across six innings. He struck out eight, fanning at least one batter in every spot in the order except Shohei Ohtani and Mookie Betts, and worked around three walks. The right-hander, who entered with an ERA just above 4.50, kept the ball down and induced weak contact to keep the Dodgers from generating much offense.
Arizona’s bullpen preserved the win, with Jake Woodford pitching a clean ninth for his second save of the season. Los Angeles managed just three hits in total, two against Gallen, and was held to three or fewer hits for the seventh time this year.
Offensively, the Diamondbacks broke through in the fourth inning. Lourdes Gurriel Jr. singled with two outs, setting the stage for Alexander, who connected on a 400-foot drive to left off Blake Snell. The homer, Alexander’s 10th of the season, gave Arizona a 2-0 advantage that proved enough.
The Diamondbacks added insurance in the sixth. Corbin Carroll led off with a double to right and came around to score on Gabriel Moreno’s RBI single, pushing the lead to 3-0 and ending Snell’s night.
Snell (3-3), making his first start since the birth of his second child, struggled with command and velocity. The left-hander lasted 5 1/3 innings, allowing three runs on four hits with eight strikeouts, three walks, and two wild pitches. His fastball averaged below his season norm of 95.4 mph, though he kept the Dodgers in striking distance before the bullpen took over.
Los Angeles had its best chance in the bottom of the sixth after Betts doubled with two outs, the team’s first runner to reach second base. Freddie Freeman then walked to bring up Will Smith, but Gurriel hauled his deep fly ball to the left on the warning track, ending the threat.
The Dodgers never mounted another rally, and Ohtani’s infield single in the third remained his only offensive contribution as Los Angeles failed to extend its win streak to five.
Arizona improved to 61-71 with the win and will look to build momentum after a difficult August. The Dodgers, now 73-55, fell to 15-17 since the All-Star break, a stretch allowing San Diego to keep the division race close.
Oddsmakers had installed Los Angeles as a -175 favorite, with Arizona as a +150 underdog. The total runs line was set at 8.5, but the game finished well under as both pitching staffs controlled the night.
The series continues Saturday, when left-hander Eduardo Rodriguez (5-8, 5.67 ERA) takes the mound for Arizona against Dodgers right-hander Tyler Glasnow (1-2, 3.36 ERA).
