D-backs pound 4 homers, top Dodgers in 12

LOS ANGELES -- It was a D-backs victory Tuesday that had a bit of everything, including the decision to sacrifice a little bit of the proverbial tomorrow to make today a success.
The D-backs used four home runs to outlast the Dodgers, getting a three-run blast from Daniel Descalso in the 12th inning to forge an 8-5 victory that was their eighth in 11 games against Los Angeles this season.
There was the surprise of Brad Boxberger's first blown save of the season, when the Dodgers' Kiké Hernández tied the game at 5 in the ninth inning with a solo home run. But Andrew Chafin, Yoshihisa Hirano, Silvino Bracho and T.J. McFarland rode to his rescue with three scoreless innings.

There was Steven Souza Jr. sliding hard into Dodgers third baseman Max Muncy and then arguing with Los Angeles' bench before heading off the field.
McFarland was a candidate to slide into the D-backs' rotation, but manager Torey Lovullo elected to call on his left-hander in the 11th inning. McFarland picked up the victory by retiring all four batters he faced.
"It makes T.J. available tomorrow [as a reliever], but we don't know what we're going to do beyond that," Lovullo said. "We'll develop a strategy and try to figure out the best solution as soon as possible."

That's how badly Lovullo wanted this one.
It started promising enough with A.J. Pollock's two-run home run in the first inning, taking Dodgers starter Rich Hill deep in his first at-bat after being named National League Player of the Week on Monday. Chris Owings and John Ryan Murphy also hit home runs.

The victory to open the two-game series in L.A. means Arizona will not lose a series for the 12th consecutive time to start the season. The D-backs have 10 series victories and one split in a four-game series at home last week against the Dodgers.
"It kind of had the feel of a game that would go for a long time and luckily I was able to come up with the big hit there and we were able to hold on," Descalso said.
If Descalso's home run brought out Arizona's passion, Souza's slide brought out the fire.
Souza broke to third base early on a steal attempt in the fifth inning with Dodgers pitcher JT Chargois able to get the ball to Muncy in time. Souza's late slide upended Muncy, who stayed on the ground in pain after the play, but remained in the game.
Souza said he heard Dodgers pitcher Alex Wood yell from their bench, but he could not make out the exact objection over the roar of the crowd. Souza started pointing back toward second base, in an apparent reference to a hard Chase Utley slide last week that took out Nick Ahmed at second base in Phoenix.

"Well, Chase Utley plays the game really hard and if Chase Utley plays the game really hard, I play the game really hard. I don't see the difference in what he did to Nick and what I did there," Souza said. "I don't know if he was trying to hit Nick on purpose, and I definitely wasn't trying to hit Max Muncy on purpose. You have two teams that play the game hard and these things happen. I don't think there is any ill will."
In the end, the D-backs were the team that got what it was looking for.
"We all believed we were going to win," Pollock said. "You have a team like that battle to scratch a run across in the ninth inning, I think we all just thought, 'Just get us back in there.' The pitchers got us back in there and we kept getting opportunities that we were going to cash in eventually."
SOUND SMART
Add Descalso to the list of D-backs players who have hit the Dodgers well this season. Descalso has hit three of his four home runs against Los Angeles, going 9-for-28 (.321) with five runs, one double, three triples and 10 RBIs. His OPS against L.A. is now 1.125.
HE SAID IT
"I couldn't hear exactly what [Wood] was saying because it was so loud, but I just know that he was trying to protect his teammate ultimately and I get it. … There is no ill will. I know he was trying to protect his teammate and I get it. Max Muncy looked like he was hurt and I'm glad he's not." -- Souza, on his hard slide into third base and hearing some objection from the Dodgers' dugout
UP NEXT
Left-hander Patrick Corbin (4-0, 2.15 ERA) will look to continue his success against the Dodgers when he takes the mound at Dodger Stadium on Wednesday night. Corbin has a 0.68 ERA in his two starts against Los Angeles this year, holding the division rival to a .091 batting average. The Dodgers will counter with left-hander Wood (0-3, 3.83), with first pitch at 7:10 p.m. MST.