LOS ANGELES – Yasiel Puig went 2-for-4 with a clutch two-out double in the seventh inning and Carlos Frias pitched seven innings of one-run ball as the Los Angeles Dodgers came from behind to beat the Diamondbacks 3-1 on Tuesday Night.
Howie Kendrick was the real hero on the evening as the former Angel second baseman delivered when his team needed him the most.
Kendrick hit a solo home run to tie the game in the sixth inning, and hit a two-run, bases-loaded single as an encore in the seventh. The victory was the Dodgers eighth consecutive win over Arizona at Dodger Stadium.
"Any time you can help your team win big games and come up in big situations, anyone in this locker room would want to be in that moment." Kendrick said of his performance. "To be able to come through and give us a victory feels great."
Robbie Ray (1-1) made just his third start of the season for the Diamondbacks, but went a career-high 6.2 innings, allowing two runs on four hits in his first loss of the season.
Ray served up a 94 MPH fastball that Kendrick was just able to get enough wood on as the 38,000 in attendance held their collective breath to see if the ball would leave the park.
"I tried to sneak a fastball by him inside, and it ran out over the plate," Ray said about the game-tying homer to Kendrick."
Frias dominated the Diamondbacks for the second straight outing as the Dominican right-hander also went 6.2 innings, allowing one run, on eight scattered hits and three strikeouts.
Frias has now only allowed one run in 14 career innings against Arizona and his only blemish on the evening was a two-out wild pitch to Cliff Pennington that scored Jarod Saltalamacchia from third.
"I tried to leave that wild pitch behind me," Frias said. "I said to myself, 'They only have a one-run lead,' we have good hitters and a good team, if I keep us in the game, then we will have a chance to win."
Ray was chased from the game after a two-out walk to Chris Heisey. Ray suffered his first loss of the season in just his third start allowing two runs on four hits in 6.2 innings.
"He did a good job," said Diamondbacks manager Chip Hale. "He had some struggles early, but he battled. He did a nice job and we'll build on that."
After the walk to Heisey, the Snakes brought in Addison Reed from the bullpen to face Puig. Puig promptly placed a double into the gap in left-center and Kendrick came through again, singling them both home two batters later.
Kendrick has been instrumental since returning to the Dodgers lineup going 5-for-8 with a home run and four RBIs since missing four games with a knee injury.
The Dodgers have struggled bridging the gap to closer Kenley Jansen lately, but it seemed they found the right combination on Tuesday night bringing in Adam Liberatore to face the lefties in the seventh, and Yimi Garcia in the eighth.
Liberatore (2-1) struck out Ender Inciarte, the only batter he faced and earned his second win of the season.
Inciarte went 2-for-4 for his 21st multi-hit game of the season. He also had two hits and scored a run on Monday night, and has reached base safely in 12 consecutive games against the Dodgers.
Jansen closed the door with a perfect ninth inning for his seventh save of the season.
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